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Berdych set for Abu Dhabi debut

ABU DHABI - World No 6 Tomas Berdych said that it was great to kick off the tennis season in Abu Dhabi and added that it was quite important to get more matches under his belt before the Australian Open.

Berdych is part of a strong six-man field which will be fighting for the winner-takes-all $250,000 Mubadala World Tennis Championship. The Mubadala World Tennis Championship runs from Thursday to Saturday and will be played at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex. The Championship kicks off the tennis season.

“It is my first time here in Abu Dhabi and I’m really looking forward to it. It is good to be part of such a good group of players like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. It is nice to start the year like this and I’m really looking forward to my first match.” Berdych said at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex on Wednesday.

He said that the Mubadala World Tennis Championship was like a Grand Slam with some of the top players competing here. “It helps quite a lot. Of course, the season is long with a lot of tournaments and matches. But it has been a month without any matches. With the Australian Open coming up, it is quite important to play as many matches before the Grand Slam. This tournament is the perfect start to the year. The weather is also fine. It is almost like competing in a Grand Slam. We have the top two players in the world here. It is a strong field and every match is going to be tough,” said Berdych, who defeated six-time champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinal at Wimbledon.

His impressive season saw him rise to No 6 in the world and the Czech hopes to hold onto his position in the world rankings.

“Last year, I moved up the rankings and I jumped almost 20 spots and finished as World No 6. This year is completely different. I need to try and hold onto my position. And to improve on it would be great. I have to play good tennis and the goal is to finish on a high in London,” said Berdych, who also beat World No 3 Novak Djokovic in the semifinal before eventually falling to World No 1 Rafael Nadal in the final at Wimbledon.

Berdych said that a win in Abu Dhabi will help in building confidence. “The only difference would be if you do lose first up, it would be like a preparation match. But a win would give you confidence for the next couple of weeks,” he said.

Berdych said that he was trying to get used to the conditions here but did manage to do a bit of sight-seeing. “I arrived on Tuesday morning and had a practice session. Coming from Europe where I had to practice indoors, it was really good to get out there. I was trying to get into rhythm and getting used to the conditions. I did manage to visit the Ferrari World though,” said Berdych, who defeated Federer in the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

Berdych takes on Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the opening match of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Thursday. And he expects it to be a tough match.

“I played against Marcos (Baghdatis) a couple of times. It is quite funny that I had played against him in the second round in Brisbane at pretty much the same time. I’m expecting a tough match. He was climbing up the rankings as well. So, it is going to be a nice match,” he said.

james@khaleejtimes.com