There’s been a steeliness to Tomas Berdych at Australian Open 2018 you could argue has been absent for much of his career.
The towering Czech demolished fellow big man Juan Martin del Potro in a clean-hitting clinic at Hisense Arena on Saturday night, winning 6-3 6-3 6-2 to take his place in the fourth round for the 10th time at Melbourne Park.
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“I think I was prepared, well ready and stuck with my plan, and I’m glad I can stand here as the winner today,” said Berdych, who next plays Fabio Fognini.
“Juan Martin is a great competitor – I must say I’m glad he’s back after all the injuries he had. He’s a great fighter and I think tennis was missing him. Was great to play him.”
You could tell there was an intensity to Berdych from the very first round. There he drew exciting Aussie wildcard Alex De Minaur, who’d cut a swathe through the Brisbane and Sydney draws and claimed scalps including Milos Raonic, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez and Benoit Paire along the way.
Many felt Berdych was in trouble against the talented teen, but, despite a lapse in the second set, the 19th seed utterly overwhelmed De Minaur, winning the last two sets 6-0 6-1. And it was the intent and the passion with which he played that was notable – Berdych was ‘on’.
That match has proven a microcosm of his entire tournament. Closing 2017 ranked 19th after seven straight years of top-10 finishes, Berdych has played as if he has a point to prove, perhaps sensing that people had written him off.
It was with that same intensity he approached his match-up against del Potro. The Argentine, back in the top 10 as of this week, was seeded higher at No.12 but was relegated to a secondary role against the relentlessly aggressive Berdych, who belted 20 aces, 52 winners and won 25 of 33 points at net.
With just four double faults and less than 30 errors, it was an impressively clean display.
Del Potro cannot have been helped by slugging out a four-setter against Karen Khachanov in sapping heat in the previous round. He looked slow and reactive all night against Berdych, and finished with just half the winner count.
There were a couple of junctures in the match when one felt a fully-firing Delpo would have turned the contest around. The first came in the opening set when Berdych melted down, aggrieved by a contentious umpiring decision. But despite Berdych escalating the complaint to the supervisor – to no avail – the Czech returned to close out the game with two big serves and forged ahead 5-2.
The second came when del Potro trailed 5-0 in the third. He was well out of it when he faced two match points at 15-40, only to land four big serves to survive. He then saved a further two match points in the next game, breaking Berdych with a backhand winner to close the gap to 2-5. The largely pro-del Potro crowd at Hisense Arena were by now in full voice, willing the Argentine on.
But he couldn’t take advantage of the momentum swing. He missed a forehand long to hand Berdych a fifth match point, and confirmed his demise with a double fault.
It was at this stage of last year’s tournament that Berdych, then seeded 10th, crashed out in straight sets to a resurgent Roger Federer. But this time around, the Czech – still hunting for an elusive major title – appears a player transformed.
Could he win the whole thing? “Yeah, why not?” he smiled.
“I don’t know, I got this question (before). I’m always being humble and trying to do my job best. One day if that’s gonna happen I would be more than pleased.
"But I go one by one."