Berdych, who is making his second appearance at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, started his 2012 season at the Australian Open, where he beat World No. 12 Nicolas Almagro in the 4th Round before falling to Nadal in four sets in the Quarterfinals.
The 2010 Wimbledon Finalist picked up his seventh ATP World Tour Title at Montpellier, beating World No. 44 Gael Monfils 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the Final. He matched a career high ranking of World No. 6 in 2012, which he had previously held in 2010. In 2011 he became the first Czech player to be ranked in the top 10 back to back years since Petr Korda in 1991-92.
At the 2012 US Open he reached the Semifinals, losing to eventual champion Andy Murray. Berdych then helped propel the Czech Republic over Argentina to reach the Davis Cup Finals.
PERSONAL
Tomas began playing tennis at the age of five. His father, Martin, was a train engineer and his mother, Hana, is a doctor. He began playing at a tennis center in his hometown of Valasske Mezirici, at town of just 30,000 and quickly became a top junior. He won the Czech Republic 12-under junior title and moved to the city of prostejov where there were more practice partners and better coaching. Tomas commuted home often to keep his ties to his old school. He won the 14-under nationals and at age 16, he won the prestigious 18-under national title, which boasts former World No. 1 Ivan Lendl as a former champion.
Berdych is a big fan of ice hockey and follows the Detroit Red Wings. He has met many of the Czech players in the NHL as well as members of the 1998 Olympic Gold Medal team, including Martin Straka, Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek, all of whom are big tennis fans. These three men have, on several occasions, traveled to Prostejov to play tennis.
His favorite surface is hard court and his strengths are his forehand and serve. He has been coached by Tomas Krupa since January 2009 and his fitness trainer is Jose Felix Gonzalez Castilla.