TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tomas Berdych (28) has managed to overcome a huge pressure. The Czech-born player defeated David Ferrer in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open yesterday after a 3-hour match with a score of 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Berdych is even more thrilled about the fact that he broke the "curse" of never winning in the Rod Laver Arena.
Berdych is definitely not a newcomer in the opening Grand Slam tournament. He has played in the Australian Open ten times. However, he never actually won a match when playing in the Rod Laver Arena. “This match was a special one for me,” said Berdych.
He also broke his personal record of making it to the semifinal for the first time in the Australian Open. For the past 3 years, the tall-postured player never made it past the quarte final. The one stopped him was the left-handed Spaniard Rafael Nadal. Novak Djokovic even defeated him twice in the quarter finals.
The victory over Ferrer, he said, is an extraordinary event. Moreover, Ferrer has won six of the eight matches against each other. "It’s always difficult to play against Ferrer, especially after I lost the third set. After that I focused on scoring point by point," said Berdych.
This victory made Berdych one of the elite players who successfully made it to all four rounds of the Grand Slam Tournament.
AUSOPEN | BBC |
