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January 22, 2008
Federer credits coach after beating Berdych
By Tom Tebbutt, The Globe and Mail
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -- The Australian Open offers many delights for visitors, including its welcoming, relaxed atmosphere and its easy-to-reach location, just four minutes by tram from central Melbourne. Jim Courier, the two-time Australian and French Open champion, does on-court interviews after matches for the host broadcaster, Channel Seven, and his stature gives him a credibility that predisposes players to interact with an easy informality.
Courier used an amusing tack with Roger Federer after his 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-3 victory over Tomas Berdych in the round-of-16 yesterday.
He suggested the world No. 1, who is his own coach, might be playing illegally because on-court coaching is against the rules. Federer played along, joking that his coach "sits there sometimes, but you just don't see him."
He continued in the same vein: "The guy, I tell you, does a good job, so I'm happy. And he's free, that's the best part."
That brought laughter from the Rod Laver Arena crowd, but Berdych's coaching situation, by contrast, is no laughing matter. His Czech compatriot, former player Jaroslav Navratil, appears to be a yes-man incapable of getting into Berdych's kitchen and giving him the edge he needs to maximize his huge talent.
The 6-foot-5 Berdych, 22 and ranked No. 13 in the world, is in the same class as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and David Nalbandian when it comes to having a game that truly troubles Federer.
"I feel a certain relief," Federer admitted yesterday. "When I saw that I was playing Berdych in the next round, I was not too happy. I'm aware of the danger of his game. He has beaten Rafa [Nadal] several times and he beat me at the Olympic Games [in 2004]. Every time I play him I'm impressed with his pace, especially on the forehand, and his serve is massive. He's a heck of an athlete."
In the second set, Berdych led 5-2 (two mini-breaks) in the tiebreaker and also had two set points, only to try a brain-cramp drop shot (missed into the net) on one and then nervously flinch a forehand long on the other.
After the match, he casually dismissed the disappointment of losing, saying, "It's not too bad," and added it would take a "miracle" for him to beat Federer.
This is from a the man who was asked during last year's U.S. Open whether he had ever entered any of his 15 Grand Slam events believing he could win.
His short pause and response - "That's an interesting question" - said it all about his (lack of) drive and ambition.
Federer will play James Blake in the quarter-finals tomorrow. The 28-year-old American attacks the ball with a unique, uncompromising abandon. His first-strike capability in rallies is all his own. "When kids start out," he explained, "I think one might want to be Sampras, one to be Agassi or one to be McEnroe.
"I was never like that. I was just having fun. My coach didn't try to mould me into any one of them. He let me do what I do best. He let me be a crazy kid at 12 years old and four feet tall trying to serve-and-volley, just kind of learning what worked best for me.
"So I don't think I ever really modelled my game after anyone. I never even realized how kind of weird my forehand looked until I saw it on TV. It was just the way I felt it was most effective."
Blake is 0-7 against Federer and said, "I can't beat myself up about it. I can go out and see if I can get better, see if there's any way to defend what he is doing that day."
In the semi-finals, the Federer-Blake winner will take on whoever emerges from the quarter-final between Djokovic, the redoubtable third seed, and the road-running No. 5, David Ferrer.
During coverage of the Federer-Berdych match, Courier stated, after cameras focused on a nifty ring on the finger of Federer's long-time girlfriend Mirka Vavrinec, that the couple was engaged.
In his Swiss German media conference, Federer, 26, denied that, saying, "You'd think I would know."
But Vavrinec, a former WTA Tour player who will turn 30 in April, remains in his long-term marriage plans, according to reliable sources.
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