World Tour Finals player profile: No. 6 Tomas Berdych

Season in review: It was another typical Berdych year: a pair of 250-point titles, a few decent runs at the Masters 1000 level, consistently decent results in Grand Slams to go along with one especially standout performance (an Australian Open upset of Rafael Nadal that ended a 17-match losing streak in the head-to-head series), and a ranking of No. 6 in the world. As usual, the Czech beat up on lesser competition while struggling mightily against the game’s best players. In fact, Berdych does not have a single win over a fellow World Tour Finals participant aside from his defeat of Nadal Down Under. On the bright side for Berdych, both of his titles in 2015 have come this fall and he also reached the quarterfinals at each of the two most recent Masters 1000 events (Shanghai and Paris).

2015 record: 57-19
Fall record (post-U.S. Open): 12-4

Best tournament: Australian Open semifinals
d. Alejandro Falla 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-3
d. Jurgen Melzer 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-2
d. Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
d. Bernard Tomic 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-2
d. Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-0, 7-6(5)
l. to Andy Murray 6-7(6), 6-0, 6-3, 7-5

Biggest win at different tournament: d. Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-4 in Monte-Carlo semifinals

World Tour Finals appearances: 5
World Tour Finals record: 6-10
Best World Tour Finals result: Semifinals (2011)

Record against other World Tour Finals qualifiers: 29-82
vs. Novak Djokovic: 2-20
vs. Andy Murray: 6-7
vs. Roger Federer: 6-14
vs. Stan Wawrinka: 5-11
vs. Rafael Nadal: 4-19
vs. David Ferrer: 5-8
vs. Kei Nishikori: 1-3

Quotable: “It’s great. I mean it’s proof of a great season for me this year. This was the season that I [clinched a spot in London] the earliest, and I’m proud of that. It’s been a really good run so far over the year. (Qualifying for the World Tour Finals), it’s one of the main goals; one of the main priorities.”

Outlook: A standard year at the office is both good news and bad news for Berdych. It at least qualified him comfortably for the O2’s grand finale. But it also suggests that his outlook in London is similarly poor. In five appearances at the prestigious tournament, Berdych is 6-10 lifetime with only one trip out of round-robin competition. That came in 2011, when he was promptly dismissed 6-3, 7-5 by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Berdych is in his finest form of the season right now, but not to the extent that it evokes confidence in his chances against the kind of competition he will see on the other side of the net at the World Tour Finals.

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