Berdych feels a sense of destiny

Sports Writer

Saturday 8 September 2012

ANDY MURRAY isn't the only player in today's US Open semi-finals who derives personal inspiration from the way Ivan Lendl transformed himself into a serial grand slam winner after setbacks earlier in his career, and unlike the Scot, Tomas Berdych shares a nationality with the eight-time major winner.

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Stewart Fisher

Lendl pops into the Berdych training base at Projestov in the Czech Republic from time to time, and can always be assured of a warm welcome there. Like Lendl, the 26-year-old 2010 Wimbledon runner-up is more feared than loved, and the convenient logic that this is the Olympic champion's predestined chance to break into the closed shop of men's grand slam winners could equally apply to him.

"He [Lendl] is an incredible man, who not only achieved the results but brought something extra to the game," said Berdych. "At the time, I don't think it was strict and professional like it is now and he brought that extra bit. More practising, gym, fitness, running – everything these days you cannot live or survive without. That makes him even bigger than he was in his time."As he committed his act of regicide against Roger Federer during the week, Berdych's booming first serves were occasionally booed by the Ashe crowd, so protective were they of one of their heroes. But the 6ft 5in Czech isn't in the sport to be loved. "Probably some other players have more fans and respect than I, but that is how it is," he said. "We will see how the crowd is going to be on Saturday."The ice hockey fan has been a consistent top-10 player for three seasons now, but after first-round setbacks at both Wimbledon and the Olympics – particularly disappointing because grass has always been perceived as a surface which suits him – Berdych took some time away from the tour, fitting in extra sprint work in an attempt to improve his movement on the court. Things started to click when he played the warm-up tournament in Winston-Salem, and he nearly ended up with the title, losing to John Isner only after a match in which he had three match points. "I said I preferred grass to clay," he said. "I was asked what was my secret, and I always said on grass you cannot get any special preparation. You come, you feel good on it, you have a good rhythm, and you play well. But definitely I know what to do [on hard courts] and here you have it more into your hands than you have on the grass. I came to the US, played a couple of tournaments and didn't feel good, so I asked for a wild card into Winston-Salem, which helped me enormously to play some extra matches and the result is here."Berdych is emboldened by his record against Murray and sees no reason why his sense of destiny should not take precedence. "He [Murray] has made more finals than me and more Masters 1000s, but I think once you get to the point of a grand slam semi-final or final you are starting on the same line and you are there to win the last point of the match," Berdych said. "I did my first interview here with Mats Wilander and he said I don't see any reason why this place shouldn't be your place. It sounded a long way away but now we are in this stage of the tournament. We will see how right he is going to be."

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Berdych feels a sense of destiny

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