Tomas Berdych life and biography

Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semi-finals of the 2010 French Open. He won one ATP Masters 1000 title in 2005. He reached a career high of World No. 6 on 18 October 2010.

Big-hitting Tomas Berdych finished in Top 20 of the year-end rankings in 2006, 2007 and 2008, during which time he was also the top player in the Czech Republic. He has won five career titles on five different surfaces, including the 2005 Paris Masters event on indoor carpet. To date, his best result major result came at Wimbledon in 2007, when he made the quarterfinals. The 6-foot-5 Berdych, who dates women's pro Lucie Safarova, reached a high of No. 9 in 2007 and has helped lead the Czech Republic to the 2009 Davis Cup final.


Timeline:

Began playing tennis at age five
Father, Martin, was a train engineer, mother, Hana, is a doctor
Began playing at tennis center in hometown of Valasske Mezirici, a town of just 30,000 and soon became a top junior
Won Czech Republic 12-under junior title and moved to city of Prostejov where there were more practice partners and better coaching
Commuted home often to keep his ties to his old school
Won 14-under nationals and at 16, he won the prestigious 18-under national title in the city of Parovbice, which boasts Ivan Lendl as a former champion
Big fan of ice hockey and follows Detroit Red Wings
Has met many of Czech players from NHL and 1998 Olympic gold medal team, including Martin Straka, Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek, since all of them are big tennis fans and have on several occasions come to Prostejov to play
Favorite surface is hard court and his strengths are forehand and serve
Has a 15-6 career Davis Cup record (10-6 in singles) in 11 ties
Coached by countryman and former ATP pro Jaroslav Navratil.

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