Tomas-Berdych.net         

"It's a good choice if they get along well together. Martin could help Tomas Berdych" said Jan Vacek who knows well Martin Stepanek from their joint work at the Tennis Academy in Halle, Germany.

Stepanek is Berdych's new coach! But it's not Radek

1 Jul 2017

by Gatto Luigi | TENNIS WORLD USA 

Tomas Berdych has a new coach. Almost a month after splitting with Goran Ivanisevic, the Czech tennis player hired Martin Stepanek with who he will work at least until Wimbledon. After that, Berdych will decide if working with Stepanek also in the rest of the season or chosing another option.

Stepanek, who was a No. 248 singles player in 2003 and No. 102 in doubles in 2005, had followed Berdych already at Stuttgart and Queen's, where he reached quarter-finals. The 37-year-old previously worked with Croatian Ivan Dodig, and also the junior player Patrick Rikl.

It remains to be seen whether it will be a good choice that will allow him to come back at good level in a very poor season so far for Berdych, who dropped in the rankings to No. 14 and will turn 32 in September. The 2010 Wimbledon finalist had worked with Tomas Krupa for most of his career, then he split with him in 2015 and hired Dani Vallverdu.

In May 2016 after the Rome event, he announced that had started to work with Ivanisevic. Berdych is still confident his best days are ahead of him. 'I want to win a Grand Slam title', he said in February at Rotterdam, two weeks after losing to Roger Federer at the Australian Open.

 

Martin Stepanek and Tomas Berdych were already together on grass tournaments in Stuttgart and in London's Queen's Club

Martin Stepanek is a former Czech tennis pro, he coached Ivan Dodig during his best singles years. He himself won one singles and eight doubles titles on the Challenger circuit.