Melbourne: Big-hitting Czech Tomas Berdych is determined not to let missed opportunities ruin his chances of going further than he has ever gone before at the Australian Open.
The fifth seed survived an epic third-set tiebreak against South African Kevin Anderson, winning it 15-13 to clinch a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 victory.
It is the third straight year in the last eight for Berdych, who had a point to lead Rafa Nadal by two sets to love at the same stage last year only for the Spaniard to storm back for victory.
“Many people (talk about) that backhand volley,” Berdych told reporters of that missed opportunity against Nadal.
“I saw it a couple of times on the TV. Still, I was the one on court playing the situation. Maybe it looks easier than the volley was.
Berdych said he was determined only to look forward and not back after setting up a meeting with either top seed Novak Djokovic or Swiss 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka.
“I would say I feel much better,” he said. “The last year was a pretty big year for me. There were many new experiences that I learned. I hope that I’m going to be able to profit from that.”
REUTERS
