Tomorrow Tomas Berdych has a chance to win the Davis Cup for the Czech Republic for the second consecutive year.
How much of a chance will depend on how he copes with Novak Djokovic. Of the 16 times they have played, he has only coped with him twice. But one of those times was this year in Rome when Berdych came back from a a set down.
Berdych will also have to deal with the Serbian crowd. In Serbia, Djokovic is a superstar and Berdych will have 15,000 opponents plus 1 in Belgrade.
A tall order for a tall man. But an order he can deliver. Djokivic is a match up issue for Berdych, true. The Sebian’s retrieving skills frustrate him into errors and exploit his inferior movement. But the surface is hard, Berydch’s best, and it is best of five sets, so Berdych has time to play himself into the match and capitalize if the timing on his forehand is on and he can keep his serve percentage high.
Berdych will also know Djokovic is on a 23 match winning streak since late September and while he may be the game’s fittest player, he is human. Mentally he will be reserving all he has until he can collapse post Davis Cup, but if Berdych can get under his skin and shake him up a little, he has a chance.
It is a chance he will do well to take. If he can win the Davis Cup for the Czechs, it would be a real confidence booster; the kind of boost the perennially ranked mid top ten player needs to make the breakthrough into the Major Winner’s circle his game is worthy of.
thetennisreview 
Leave a comment