Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic holds up his trophy after winning the final of the ABN AMRO tennis tournament against Marin Cilic of Croatia in Rotterdam yesterday.
ROTTERDAM: Tomas Berdych credited his steady serve for helping him end a 16-month title drought with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Marin Cilic in the Rotterdam World Tennis yesterday.
The Czech Republic third seed could not contain his satisfaction after finally lifting a title.
“It feels so amazing, it’s been so long, To win the title here is a real bonus. I’m extremely happy with how I handled things throughout the week.”
The ATP number seven handed Croatia’s unseeded Cilic his first loss after nine straight wins which took him to the Zagreb title a week ago.
It was the ninth career title for the new champion, off to his best season start with a 12-2 record.
Berdych had not lifted an ATP trophy since Stockholm, October, 2012. He suffered through 2013 as the only player in the top 10 not to win a title, losing finals in Marseille, Dubai and Bangkok.
“I’ve been serving well all week, it was the strongest part of my game. My mental strength also saved me. This shows me that my tennis is not based on just one factor. I had a good all-round performance.”
The victory in 75 minutes lifted Berdych to 5-2 over the 37th-ranked Cilic, a former top ten player who served a ban last year over a technical anti-doping infraction.
Berdych is the first Czech to win the Rotterdam honours since his Davis Cup teammate Radek Stepanek eight years ago.
AFP
