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It’s fair to say that along with Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych is flying under the radar at this years Australian Open. Soderling was ignored because previously his results in Melbourne have deserved to be ignored, however, you can’t discount the fact that Soderling is now a different player.
Tomas Berdych is also different. He’s not choking as much. He’s taking down some big names more regularly, and not just in smaller tournaments. Over the last week, Tomas has been quietly going about his business, today beating Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-2, 7-6, 6-2.
Despite Richard’s best efforts and beautiful backhand, Tomas never really looked in trouble, and later said he was happy with his form. “I didn’t give him a chance to step in and put pressure on me. The conditions were tough with the wind, so I had to be careful and patient and wait for my chances. The tiebreak was important and you never know if you can lose a couple points and we’d still be on court.”
The newly confident Czech will now play Fernando Verdasco. Both players are in the same half as Rafael Nadal. In the other half, it looks like Roger Federer will make the quarterfinals without playing a seeded player.
“I’m in a different position now, because before I was the one chasing the big names and now I’m in the opposite position. That’s really nice to be in a new situation but I still nee to improve things in my game. Now I don’t have to play Rafa or Roger this early. It’s tough to say it’s easier, but if you put it together with Roger and Rafa’s name, it is easier. But it will still get harder and harder.”
