17 Things Tomas Berdych Did Between His Wins Over Rafael Nadal

Tomas Berdych slayed a data dragon—a 17-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal—with a comprehensive and impressive 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (5) win over the Spaniard in the Australian Open quarterfinals. You can read about the match in detail, and see what the players had to say afterward, here, and Steve Tignor will publish his thoughts about the result and its ramifications later today.

As for this space, we’re going to dedicate it exclusively to Berdych. His previous win over Nadal came more than eight years ago, in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Madrid Masters. He’s done a lot of memorable things, both on and off the court, during that extended stretch of time. Seventeen come to mind:

Berdych celebrated his win over Nadal in Madrid not by raising his hands up high, but by raising a finger to his lips. The Czech showed the partisan Spanish crowd, which cheered his errors throughout the match, what he thought of them—which of course only made things worse. Whistles rained down on Berdych as he walked to the net to meet Nadal, who had words of his own after a curt handshake. A heated Rafa called his opponent “a bad person” for making the gesture, and the incident followed Berdych for years.

In their very next match, the following spring in Monte Carlo, Nadal came out firing, winning the first set 6-0. His straight-sets win marked the beginning of his 17-match winning streak over Berdych, and also ended a three-match losing streak to him (at the time, their head-to-head record was 3-1 in Berdych’s favor). “It’s neither good nor bad,” Rafa said about his relationship with Berdych. “There’s no relationship at all. There's no problem for me to say hello when I see him, and he doesn't always do that himself.”

No one has ever questioned Berdych’s talent, but almost everyone has questioned his ability to turn that talent into titles. He’s won ten tournaments in his career, but only one at the Masters level, that coming way back in 2005. Berdych is better known for the matches he’s lost, which includes 15 ATP finals. But his most notable stumble may have taken place in the fourth round of the 2009 Australian Open, when Berdych took a two-sets-to-love lead over Roger Federer. Once Berdych dropped the third set, the writing was on the wall, and Federer was never seriously troubled for the rest of his 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win.

Berdych had beaten Federer before the 2010 Wimbledon tournament—it was at the 2004 Olympics in Athens that he became a known quantity at 18 with his 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 upset of the Swiss. But no one expected him to repeat the feat at the All England Club, where Federer hadn’t lost before the finals in the previous seven years. Federer, who was nearly upset in the opening round, wasn’t at his best this particular fortnight, but that shouldn’t detract from Berdych’s achievement. The Czech knocked out the champ in four sets—fending off break points in the final game—with a confidence that matched his offense.

After his upset of Federer, Berdych would go on to beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, setting up a final with Nadal. Of their 22 career meetings, only two have took place in finals (the other was their first match, in 2005, in Bastad). This three-set match was a bit of a letdown, both for the fans and Berdych, who didn’t look like the player he was against Federer and Djokovic. Walking out on Centre Court for your first major final can do that.

After beating Rafa in Madrid, Berdych lost the next 20 sets he played against Nadal, finally halting the skid in the second set of their quarterfinal at the 2011 Miami Masters. Nadal would go on to win the match, of course, but it was a minor victory for Berdych—emphasis on minor. Including today’s win Down Under, Nadal has won 40 of the 53 sets they’ve played.

For whatever reason, a lot of Berdych’s memorable moments, good and bad, have taken place in Melbourne. This one was clearly an example of the latter. In the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open, Berdych approached the net as Almagro ran forward to hit a forehand. The resulting shot came back directly at Berdych, who hit the deck after the ball hit him.

After the match, which Berdych won, he fired a shot of his own at Almagro. First, he refused to shake his hand after ‘Game, set, match’ was called, and then criticized Almagro him during the on-court interview. The fans sided with Almagro, drowning out Berdych’s responses with boos.

If you think Berdych’s personality is as rigid as his game, think again. He’s a must-follow on Twitter, engaging with fans, media, and players, and providing material that begs to be re-tweeted. @tomasberdych was born in 2013, and a few months later he was named the TENNIS.com Tweeter of the Year. Here’s some of his best work:

On August 19, 2013, Berdych reached his career-high ranking of No. 5. It was a year in which he went 54-25—but failed to win a title. Consistent but unspectacular, Berdych’s prolonged presence in the Top 10 has often been taken for granted.

In 2007, Berdych was part the Czech team that defeated Switzerland in a World Group Playoff tie, lifting the nation back into the competition’s top tier. In the years that followed, Berdych took part in run to the 2009 final and the 2010 semifinals, both difficult match-ups on the road. When the Czechs got the chance to host the 2012 final, Berdych won singles and doubles rubbers, and did the same a year later, away in Serbia. In both finals, Berdych failed to win a Cup-clinching match, but that shouldn’t diminish his overall contributions. He also played the longest Davis Cup match ever, at seven hours and one minute, with Lukas Rosol in 2013. They defeated the Swiss doubles team of Marco Chiudinelli and Stan Wawrinka, 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-7(3) 24-22.

At the 2014 Miami Masters, Berdych pulled out of his scheduled match with Nadal due to gastroenteritis; he did not look well at the hastily organized press conference while announcing it. Incredibly and unfortunately, it was the second instance of a semifinalist withdrawing from a match that day.

Tastefully, it must be said, for ESPN The Magazine’s “Body Issue”:

Berdych also makes statements when he decides to wear clothes. A Nike-sponsored athlete for years, Berdych became the brand ambassador for H&M in 2013. The move raised eyebrows because the popular Swedish chain is best known for its casual, rather than athletic, clothes it sells at its trendy stores. And for a while, all Berdych seemed to wear was white, or other uninspiring pieces of H&M apparel.

Then this happened at the 2014 Australian Open:

I suppose you could say he toned it down for this year’s event:

The less said about this the better, but in last year’s Beijing final, Djokovic was a game away from beating Berdych 6-0, 6-0. Berdych prevented the colossal embarrassment from happening by winning a game at the last possible moment. “I was just swept off the court,” a stunned Berdych said afterward. “I have never, ever experienced anything like that.”

Looking to refresh his game that many said had stagnated, Berdych set out to find a new coach and targeted Ivan Lendl, the former Czech great. But Lendl, who just ended a coaching relationship with Andy Murray, didn’t want to make another coaching commitment—and so Berdych went out and hired another former coach of Murray, Dani Vallverdu. A year younger than Berdych, the 28-year-old Vallverdu should be able to provide a unique perspective for Berdych in his semifinal against…Murray.

To Ester Satorova, it was announced at the Aussie Open. (Berdych once dated fellow Czech player Lucie Safarova.)

The 17-match losing streak finally ended when a Nadal return of serve landed on his side of the net. But it was Berdych who earned this victory over the previous two hours with some of his most assertive and accurate hitting. He struck 46 winners against 21 errors and won 45 percent of receiving points (37 out of 82). He also used one of his biggest weapons, the serve, to devastating effect. Nadal never broke Berdych and went a scant six for 21 on second-serve points (29 percent). At one point, Nadal was one for 11 in that category. Berdych, for his part, broke Nadal’s serve five times.