Tomas Berdych became the sixth player to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals. He was the second player who qualified this past weekend along with Rafael Nadal. He qualified despite his poor showing in the quarterfinals, losing 1-6, 3-6 to Andy Murray.
Berdych’s Season Review
It was a bright start to the year for the Czech number one. He took advantage of early losses by Novak Djokovic and Nadal in Doha by making the final before losing to David Ferrer. He continued his run of good form making the semifinals of the Australian Open, dismantling Nadal along the way. He would wind up being defeated by Andy Murray in a controversial semifinal.
Berdych continued to his stellar early season form making the finals in Rotterdam (loss to Stan Wawrinka), the semifinals in Dubai (loss to Djokovic), and the quarterfinals in Indian Wells (loss to Roger Federer). The Czech number one made it six consecutive tournaments making it to at least the final eight as he made the semifinals in Miami before running into Murray once again.
The world number five translated his hard court success onto the clay by making the finals in Monte Carlo. He pushed Djokovic to three sets in the principality but fell just short of taking the title. It was yet another Masters semifinal showing for the Czech, this time in Madrid, but Nadal avenged his defeat to the Czech in Australia with a straight sets win in the semifinal.
After making the quarterfinals in Rome, Berdych’s form dropped off quite a bit. He failed to make it past the round of 16 in the final three majors of the year and made only one quarterfinal (Halle). He finally won his first title of the year earlier this month in Shenzhen. This week he is currently playing in Stockholm looking to defend his title.