China Open, Beijing

Men’s Final: [CR1] Novak Djokovic vs. [CR6] Tomas Berdych (CZE)

Tomas Berdych almost forgot to show up for his match today against Novak Djokovic. He made a very brief appearance at the end; however, Djokovic was not interested in an extended visit.  Djokovic served for the victory and a double bagel; however, a temporary loss of focus caused him to lose serve.  Berdych briefly looked enthused and won his first game on serve, but those were the only games Djokovic was willing to concede. Djokovic won 6-0, 6-2.

Watching Berdych play can be frustrating.  He is a talented player and although he has only beaten Djokovic twice, he knows how to do so. However, he has to believe in his game and he has to play attacking tennis and not get lulled into playing cat-and-mouse with Djokovic.  He also made too many forehand errors, just as he did in his first set against Martin Klizan and Djokovic had no intention of giving him the opportunity to find his form.  If Berdych wishes  to one day hoist a Major trophy, which he is capable of doing, he will have to dig a lot deeper.