Truly, it seems that with this fifth championship, Novak has made Beijing his home. It was one of those matches where Berdych’s easy power was returned with interest as Djokovic was dialed in and hitting as well as any fan could hope.
At 15-15 in the first game, he hit a backhand down-the-line return that was a portent of how the rest of the match would unfold. Novak would return booming serves dropping them near (or on) the baseline. There were some very good rallies early on, but just when you thought Berdych had a winner, it came back.
Berdych ended the first set having landed only 48% of his first serves with two double faults. There were few opportunities to find a foothold. Down 0-3, he blistered a winner to get up on Djokovic at 0-30, but the Serb served his way out of trouble. Then again at 0-4, 40-15 he had game points to get on the board. Novak went into his Gumby defense (aided and abetted by the slower courts) and replied with a scorching backhand down-the-line winner off an excellent forehand crosscourt from Tomas.
A few moments later he found himself down a break point, fought back to deuce, only to see it all slip away due to the laser-sharp shot-making of his opponent. Outclassed and discouraged, Berdych’s error count surged, losing the first set without winning a game, and the first two games of the second set without winning one point.
Berdych had his moments. A beautiful backhand down-the-line shot at 0-3, 0-40. In the fifth game, down 0-15, they had an incredible rally using every corner of the court. Novak hit a sharply angled crosscourt forehand pulling Tomas off the court. The Czech flicked his racquet for a beautiful forehand down-the-line winner to win the point.
The people loved it. I so appreciate the Beijing crowd. They’re polite and attentive, but not at all jaded. As these guys would rally, hitting one unbelievable shot after another, the oohs and aahs would get louder and louder — then they would explode when the point finished.
Novak didn’t even blink, and fired more winners of his own. Suddenly it was 5-0 in the second set, and Novak was serving for the championship. Tomas was fighting to avoid eating two bagels, and managed to see his first break points of the match, capitalizing on the second to get his first game. He then held serve for the first time all day, before Djokovic closed it out on his serve.
It was an entertaining match for the most part, and the scoreline should take nothing away from Berdych’s play this week. This was just one of those days when Djokovic was on his game; he even said later that it was the best final he has ever played. It’s his house for another year.
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Cover Photo (Creative Commons License): Marianne Bevis
