Chapter 662 Compassion

Tomas Berdych, a Czech player, officially turned professional in 2003, 196 cm, 91 kg, as of 2014, his highest career ranking was fifth.

So, when people mention Berdych, what is the first impression that comes to mind?

Is it because his surname is pronounced similar to “bird”, so he is nicknamed “bird brother”? Or is it because of his handsome appearance and supermodel girlfriend? Is he the first member of the “Big Four” ten-loss club? Or is it because of his 18th consecutive defeat to Nadal?

Since first breaking into the top ten in the world rankings in 2010, Berdych has never fallen out of the top ten. His stable and outstanding performance, coupled with his idol-like appearance, has also won him a lot of popularity.

Berdych has always been known as a "good boy" on tour, both in real life and on the court.

He has a gentle personality and rarely gets angry; his technical movements are very precise, basically copied and pasted from a textbook. For coaches, all his movements can be used as templates for teaching; his playing style is also very disciplined, and he completes every shot conscientiously.

However, precisely because of this, he lacks that little bit of "spark of inspiration", and his performance on the court has never been able to break free from the shackles and has always been somewhat lukewarm.

Berdych, who was born in 1985, collided head-on with the peak periods of Federer and Nadal, so for a long time, he was the background board behind the giants.

Facing other players, Berdych was always able to win in a solid and outstanding manner, rarely causing upsets; but facing the Big Four, he was always helpless.

So much so that when fans mention him, there is always a hint of pity, a hint of sympathy, and a little bit of laughter, which seems to complement his "good boy" image.

But that is not the case.

In the eyes of industry insiders, Berdych is one of the few players who "never won a Grand Slam but is definitely one of the best."

Looking closely at Berdych's career history, there are indeed many amazing records.

First of all, Berdych's career prize money ranks tenth among all male players in history.

Secondly, Berdych is the second player outside of the "Big Four", after Nalbandian, to be able to beat Federer more than once in a Grand Slam.

Again, Berdych is the third player after Tsonga and Wawrinka to successfully defeat the "Big Four" in a Masters or Grand Slam.

In 2005, Berdych won the Paris Masters as an unseeded player, but this was not the masterpiece of his career.

In 2010, at Wimbledon, Berdych defeated then world No. 1 Federer and then world No. 3 Djokovic successively, reaching the Grand Slam final in his career. Then he faced then world No. 2 Nadal in the final, but unfortunately lost in three straight sets.

Earlier this year, Berdych reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, making him one of the few players in the "Big Four Era" who can reach the semi-finals in all four Grand Slams.

From Ferrer to Berdych to Wawrinka, these players have all experienced the peak of the "Big Four Era", and they are basically the strongest players outside the Big Four, but they have never been able to break through until this year's Australian Open, when Wawrinka defeated Berdych in the semi-finals and advanced to the final, finally emerging as a butterfly.

It’s the time and it’s the fate.

Therefore, when fans mention these players, they can't help but feel more sympathy.

In fact, later on, fans' memories of Berdych seemed to stay on his incredible losing streak against the Big Four. Against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Berdych lost more than twenty games, and against Murray he lost more than ten games. He was one of the earliest members of the "Big Four Ten Losses Club".

But from another perspective, Berdych has played against the Big Four so many times, which proves that he has remained at the top for a long time and has been able to beat other players and get in front of the Big Four in every game. Other players may not be able to encounter the Big Four ten times in their entire career.

Moreover, Berdych's record against the Big Four is even slightly ahead of Wawrinka: he has won six games against Federer and Murray; four games against Nadal; and three games against Djokovic.

And, very importantly, not all of these wins came early in the Big Four's careers. He defeated each of them during their peak years.

This year, Berdych's performance remained stable, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open, the quarter-finals of the French Open and the US Open. Only Wimbledon was slightly disappointing, where he was eliminated in the third round.

Therefore, Berdych's world ranking has remained stable at fifth place, including in the championship points list; he has been striving to qualify for the year-end finals for the fifth consecutive year, and the overall situation is very good. Basically, as long as he does not make any big mistakes, he can ensure qualification.

However, 2014 is indeed a magical year full of changes.

In the sprint stage at the end of the year, Murray continued to exert his strength and came from behind, while Berdych, after winning the championship in Stockholm, was upset in the first round of Valencia, losing to Anduar, his first-round opponent in the Gao Wen Shanghai Masters. As a result, he was not only overtaken by Murray in the championship points list, but the good situation also became chaotic.

Fans also sighed that "Bird Brother" is indeed the familiar "Bird Brother". He failed to perform at the critical moment. It is not that he does not have such ability, but that his character lacks a bit of ruthlessness and decisiveness. Once other players are in a tight situation at the critical moment, Berdych is often the first to fluctuate.

Of course, despite this, Berdych is still ranked sixth in the championship points list and is more than 200 points ahead of Ferrer, with a clear advantage.

Therefore, as long as Berdych's performance in Paris is not too bad, he can also be sure to qualify for the year-end finals.

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After winning the first match and advancing to the third round, Berdych's heart, which was stuck in his throat, was able to go back a little, but he still couldn't be completely at ease.

Because the second round of the Paris Masters was uneventful.

The only upset is... Cilic.

Facing the young French player Lucas-Pouille, who was born in 1994, Cilic wasted two set points in the second set and eventually lost two tiebreaks in a row, being eliminated unexpectedly.

After delivering the best performance of his career at the US Open, Cilic was also looking forward to entering a new stage in his career. However, the reality was contrary to his expectations and the "Grand Slam Syndrome" was very, very serious: he won two games in Beijing and was eliminated in the first round in Shanghai. Although he won four consecutive games in Moscow, he was eliminated in the first round of the following two tournaments in Valencia and Paris.

In the end, Cilic officially missed the year-end finals with two consecutive losses, ending his 2014 season in a very embarrassing manner.

There is one suspense missing.

But all other competitors have won and advanced successfully, which means that Berdych still cannot relax. He needs to win as many games as possible to secure his place in the finals.

What’s more, the third round is a head-on confrontation between competitors!

(End of this chapter)