Sid_Vicious
G.O.A.T.
I personally want to see Tomas Berdych win a slam. I love his game. Such clean and powerful ballstriking.
Honestly? Neither. Don't particularly like either player and can't see either winning a slam.
Problem solved, I guess.
If I had to pick one I'd go with Tsonga.
Honestly? Neither. Don't particularly like either player and can't see either winning a slam.
Neither really but Berdych if pushed. I like his game. Tsonga is a big French clown.
It seems to me that Tsonga has the ability to do it, he just needs the mental prowess to succeed.
He has all the tools. He needs a good coach. Lately watching his matches it sometimes looks as though he is lost.
Footwork? Lateral movement? Consistent backhand? Good ROS?
All things that he lacks.
Berdych is just a ball basher and not even the best one seen the last 5 years or so (eg- prime Del Potro, Soderling, in form Gulbis or Cilic) in an era ball bashers arent that successful anyway. Tsonga has everything in his game Berdych has, atleast as much power, but much better volleys, better movement, more creativity and flair, more variety. Berdych is more consistent in his level of play without the ups and downs of Tsonga though.
Lol at Tsonga moving better than Berdych. :lol: Just because he would outrun him in a 40 yard dash, doesn't mean he moves better.
Berdych's BH, ROS and footwork >>>> Tsonga.
Also lol at Cilic and Gulbis being better than him "in form".
Going by that logic, Berdych is better than Soderling and Del Poro "in form" as well.
Not to mention he has advantages that Sod and Delpo don't have. Soderling is a much more one dimensional player than Berdych. Doesn't move nearly as well, doesn't return as well and if you manage to take time away from him, you can hurt him. Not so with Berdych.
Del Potro is nowhere near as agressive as Berdych, even though he has more weight of shot. It's easier to track down Del Potro's shots than it is to track down Berdy's. Berdych serves better, returns better and hits a better backhand as well.
I have seen play and for me his overall movement is the better of the two. Berdych's footwork might be a bit better but he is still far enough behind in speed he still overall is the weaker of the two.
Tsonga's FH, Serve, Volleys, Overhead, Transition game, Overall Speed and Overall Athletic Ability >>> Berdych. Hmmm more >>>> for Tsonga than Berdych.
Why is that Tsonga can beat any of the big 4 when he is on and has done so many times, while Berdych is useless vs both Nadal and Djokovic.
Watch Gulbis-Berdych at Wimbledon this year, where Gulbis hit twice as many winners in his win over Berdych, then get back to me.
What logic is that exactly? The guy who beat both Nadal and Federer at Roland Garros, reached back to back slam finals, and has actually won a recent Masters where the top 5 didnt all not play, is inferior to Berdych in form somehow. The guy who has won a slam title beating Federer and Nadal back to back is lesser in form to Berdych, haha.
On what planet is Berdych somehow this expert mover, LOL! Soderling moves worse but that is just because of how bad he is, both are poor movers. If you take time away from Berdych it is easy to hurt him as well. Djokovic has done this in many of their matches, and in form Federer has done it many times as well. Nadal who plays more agressively vs Berdych in general than most of his matches, has also successfully done this many times.
Yes that is why Del Potro was owning Nadal for a 8 month window before his wrist injury, while Berdych cant even make a tiny dent in Nadal. That is why Del Potro in that 8 month window was becoming Federer's nemisis (much moreso than Berdych), and totally overpowered him in all 3 of their matches, even the one loss.
Anyway check out the poll results. Most apparently agree with me on this one.
I've always said Tsonga is one of the few guys who has what it takes to challenge the top 4. I would like him to with a major, moreso than Berdych and I think he's more likely to. And that's a bit puzzling, because game-wise you'd think Berdych would thrive in this era more than Tsonga: MUCH better backhand, better ROS, good mover for a big guy and serve is arguably just as good. Tsonga's FH is slightly better but less consistent, although his netplay is a lot better. But I think that what separates Tsonga is that he seems to have genuine self-belief that he can do it. He's beaten just about everybody in a major, in fact he's beaten all of the top 4 -- think about that for a second. And when he hasn't beaten them, he's given them extremely tough matches: MP's against Djokovic this year at the FO, gave him hell at the Aussie in '08, and has taken a set off Djokovic/Murray the last 3 years at Wimby.
He just has this air of confidence and flair that most guys don't have. And he's a throwback at times, with the net play and first strike tennis so I'd love to see him do it. When his game is on, it's lethal and he's almost unplayable. I think if a draw opens up for him, and he only needs to beat one or two of the top four, he can do it. I believe he has a good 3 year window to do it -- yes, he'll be 30, but he will have less mileage than the average 30 year old given how he was sidelined early in his career for a long time.
IMO they both seem curiously similar in terms of their playing style, consistency, records and achievements and they both have roughly similar records against the top 4:
Berdych:
v Federer 5-11
v Djokovic 1-9
V Murray 4-3
v Nadal 3-12
Total: 13-35
Tsonga:
v Federer 3-8
v Djokovic 5-7
v Murray 1-6
v Nadal 3-7
Total: 12-28
Tsonga has 9 titles, Berdych 7. Both have won 1 Masters title in their career, in each case Paris and in each case several years ago (Berdych 2005, Tsonga 2008 ). Both have appeared in one Slam final which was several years ago ( Tsonga at 2008 AO, Berdych at 2010 Wimbledon). Both currently jockey for the #6 and #7 world ranking spots (Berdych recently moved up to #6 spot. Tsonga moved down to #7).
So for me, there's really not much to choose between them levelwise. However Tsonga seems the more likeable and personable of the two and so, if I had to choose which of the two I would prefer to see do it, I guess it would be Tsonga. But either has as much chance as the other in my opinion.
IMO they both seem curiously similar in terms of their playing style, consistency, records and achievements and they both have roughly similar records against the top 4:
Berdych:
v Federer 5-11
v Djokovic 1-9
V Murray 4-3
v Nadal 3-12
Total: 13-35
Tsonga:
v Federer 3-8
v Djokovic 5-7
v Murray 1-6
v Nadal 3-7
Total: 12-28
Tsonga has 9 titles, Berdych 7. Both have won 1 Masters title in their career, in each case Paris and in each case several years ago (Berdych 2005, Tsonga 2008 ). Both have appeared in one Slam final which was several years ago ( Tsonga at 2008 AO, Berdych at 2010 Wimbledon). Both currently jockey for the #6 and #7 world ranking spots (Berdych recently moved up to #6 spot. Tsonga moved down to #7).
So for me, there's really not much to choose between them levelwise. However Tsonga seems the more likeable and personable of the two and so, if I had to choose which of the two I would prefer to see do it, I guess it would be Tsonga. But either has as much chance as the other in my opinion.
I personally want to see Tomas Berdych win a slam. I love his game. Such clean and powerful ballstriking.
Neither for me, sorry am not impressed with either. Berdych always folds when the chips are down at the slams, and Tsonga isn't consistent enough. When Tsonga's on he's a force, but just not consistent.
I personally want to see Tomas Berdych win a slam. I love his game. Such clean and powerful ballstriking.
Nice looking game I guess; he plays the angles well. The trouble is he is a complete jerk, one of the most self-serving sportsmen I've ever seen. He does not give his opponents credit at all (Murray only won due to the wind, an opinion shared by the resident haters of this forum, of course). His absurd antics with Almagro and misrepresenting him afterwards (Almagro "had the whole court to hit at" when a 6'5 man with a huge wingspan was covering the angle entirely) . While I always thought the campaign to portray Soderling as unlikeable was not grounded in reality, if anything, Berdych's behaviour is underreported. There is no guy on tour I enjoy seeing destroyed more than him. Watching Nadal and Djokovic slaughter him is always a pleasure.
Tsonga seems like a good guy and has a flashy game but I think he is less likely to win a major. He does not have the concentration to stay with it throughout multiple best of five matches with top players.
I agree with most of what you said but you have to consider all of Berdych's wins over Nadal came 2006 or earlier. He hasnt been a threat to Nadal in years and probably never will be again. The biggest difference between them is there are 2 players Berdych just cant beat- Nadal and Djokovic. There are no top 4 players Tsonga cant beat on a given day, and if his h2h vs Murray is almost as bad as Berdych's vs Djokovic, he had real chances in some of their matches, whereas Berdych is strangled helpess in virtually all his matches with Djokovic.
When did he say this? Or did you just produce that out of your vivid imagination.
I'm pretty sure he said "Murray adjusted to the wind better". Pretty sure that's a form of credit.
Being a pro athlete must be hell. You are watched by petty people who will understand your words the way they like it.
I guess you are not one of the people that (under a different username, of course) write scathing diatribes after someone posts a google translation of some tame Nadal comments on the state of the game.
And no, being a pro athlete is not hell. I highly doubt Berdych would trade places with you or me if given the opportunity. Sure, his words are subject to immense scrutiny while you and I can utter the most absurd inanities and not be criticized for it, but that's only because nobody cares what we think. Hardly a desirable tradeoff.
In all fairness, I don't think Berdych's matches v Djokovic are all quite the beat-downs you suggest. He won a set in 5 out of the 9 matches he lost to him including 4 out of the last 5. But it does seem that Djokovic is the worst match-up for him maybe even including Nadal. As I suggested in another thread, it may be the reason why he chose not to defend his Beijing title this year against Djokovic and has chosen to play in Tokyo where he will be seeded to play the final against Murray, a guy he has a better H2H against.