Berdych 2.0.
He's beaten the #2 and #3 consecutively and now gets his shot at the #1 in his first Grand Slam final on Sunday. Against Nole, just as he did against Fed, Tomas was steady and played within himself, hitting big but also being patient. That patience and his improved movement were really impressive. He was willing to engage in rallies with Nole until he worked out a good opportunity to take a crack.
As for Nole, this was heartbreak. To work his way back into that second set tiebreak with some stunning play and overcoming some cringeworthy bad luck (how the hell do you miss a call on a lob on the baseline???), he fought off set point after set point and even held a set point himself. And then, of course, because the Tennis Gods insist on keeping him in the cellar, he double faults on set point to give the set to Tomas.
Yeah, I would, too.
From there the kid was emotionally drained and couldn't summon the energy and drive to fight in the third set. All credit to Nole, he saw the match right: Tomas was the better player today. But I hope the kid takes heart. This was a redemptive tournament for him. He came in as an afterthought and comes out as the #2 player in the world, playing some solid tennis along the way. I hope he sees the positive and doesn't dwell on the negative. This was a great tournament for him.
