Tomas Berdych: Czech tennis star hoping to take final step at Dubai Championships

World No 7 Tomas Berdych discusses his form heading into the Dubai Duty Free Tenis Championships and addresses whether 2015 will be the year he gets his hands on a major title.

Tomas Berdych, in action during last year's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, is aiming to go one better this year. Pawan Singh / The National

Tomas Berdych returns to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships next week looking for it to be a case of third-time lucky.

The Czech player has lost in the final of the tournament in the past two years. In 2013, he went down in straight sets to Novak Djokovic and, 12 months ago, lost in three sets to Roger Federer.

Ahead of this year’s event at the Aviation Centre, which runs from February 23-28, Berdych, 29, who is the world No 7, took time out to talk about past experiences in Dubai, winning the Davis Cup with the Czech Republic and his hopes for 2015.

You have got to the final in Dubai for the past two years only to lose in the final. Is this the year you win it?

“Well, I hope that it is going to be the lucky one, but always the journey is long and it is not always to make it through, especially in Dubai when you can always see the tough draw in front of you, and this year is no exception. It is definitely the goal once I am in the tournament to go all the way but I always like to take it one game by one game.”

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What are your memories of last year’s final?

“I have always have a good memories of Dubai but, obviously, every time you go on court and you lose it is very disappointing. Against Roger it was a very close game but I lost in three sets. It is not the way and how you want to finish the final but, overall, it was a good week.”

You have not been outside the top 10 in the world since June 2010. What is the secret of staying at the top for such a sustained period?

“I think it is a result of my daily hard work and the routines that I am doing that I am able to care of myself and stay injury free for a long time. That is one of the basic things you have to do if you want to be successful.”

You have established yourself as a top player. In many ways the only thing missing is a grand slam title. Is that something you think you can put achieve in 2015?

“I start 2015 with a couple of changes with my team [coaches Danny Vallverdu and Azuz Simcich]. I hope and believe that these changes might be the right ones to help me do that, to fight for the grand slam trophies. I want to go step by step to do that. The first step is the hard work and the new things that I am working on that I need to adapt to my game. Definitely [winning a major], that is my main goal for the rest of the career.”

How memorable an experience was being part of the Czech Republic team that won the Davis Cup against Spain in 2012, the first time the country had won the event since 1980?

“That final was very special. For us after 31 years that we win the Davis Cup and with the home crowd it was very special feeling. We won the next year, as well, so it has been a great journey for us.”

How does winning the Davis Cup twice stand in your career achievements and what are the chances of a third, this year?

“We did it two times in a row [2012 and 2013], which I think is exceptional especially with the team that we had. We don’t have that many players that we can choose from and it stays very high because the Davis Cup is a big trophy and it is a big achievement. I think tennis is a good sport in the way that you can have more goals. You can win a slam, you can win the Davis Cup, you can be No 1 in the world. I am glad to have been a Davis Cup winner twice in my career already. For this year I chose not to play the first match [with Australia in Ostrava next month] and just focus more on my career, but whatever happens then I think it is still open [for future matches], so lets see what is going to be happen this year.”

What are your goals and aspirations for the rest of 2015?

“As I already said, with the new team it is really working on the new stuff and getting it into my game. One of the goals is definitely getting the big results in the slams, but overall this season needs to be very solid, keep the top 10 [ranking] again and fight for the slams trophies.”

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