Reality Czech on major dreams

Dubai: Czech Karel Novacek won the first ever Dubai Men's Open, as it was called then, back in 1993. Now 20 years on, another Czech is looking forward to repeating that feat. But given how crowded it is at the top of the men's game right now World No 7 Tomas Berdych believes it would take an exceptional run of form to break the domination of the top three - top four according to him - and an even more exceptional run of good fortune to win a Grand Slam title or even the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship for that matter.

Speaking to XPRESS exclusively ahead of the ATP World Tour 500 event which begins from February 27 at the Aviation Club tennis stadium, Berdych said: "I would add maybe Andy Murray to that list [top three] and that makes it even more harder to win a Grand Slam title.

Not much chance

"Only Juan Martin Del Potro has done it in the last few years. There are really not that many opportunities, so there's not much of a chance to win a Grand Slam title. Look at the Australian Open this year. I played Rafa [Nadal] in the quarters and even if I had won that, I would have had to beat Roger [Federer] in the semis and then Novak [Djokovic] in the final. It's really tough to do it. If this happens at least once, the price of that Grand Slam title would be double and it would be even more special."

It's not all gloom and doom for Berdych though, having started off the year fairly well by winning the Hopman Cup. "Starting the year with the win in Hopman Cup was pretty good. Then going into Melbourne, getting to the quarters before the tough loss to Rafa means it has been a solid start to the year for me," he said prior to winning his seventh ATP World Tour title in Montpellier this week.

The 26-year-old, who lists Dubai as one of his favourite tournaments, made it to the semis here last year, before having to pull out with injury. And he believes winning the title here would be as difficult as trying to win a Grand Slam title given it features Djokovic, Federer and Murray, besides Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Del Potro as well.

"I love the Dubai tournament. The place makes it really special. There are not many places where you can play tennis in the desert. The tournament is really well prepared and we always get great hospitality. They like to take care of the players and that's very important. That's why I always like to come back here. Having such nice weather is a nice bonus," he said, adding: "Last year was quite sad, still semis was a very solid result. Actually, as I saw the list of players playing in the tournament this year, it makes it really strong and a really tough one. My aim will be to try to improve and play my best tennis and take it step by step and not look too far ahead."

Berdych's best year was undoubtedly 2010 when he reached the French Open semis and the Wimbledon final, beating Federer in the quarters, a result that enhanced his affinity for grass. And he is eagerly looking forward to the Olympics in London. "Grass has become quite a favourite surface for me especially after my final at Wimbledon. I always like to go back there and it's special that the Olympics will be in the same place. Any kind of medal there would be nice. The Olympics is one of my goals as a tennis player and it would be really nice to get a medal for the country," he said.

Czech points