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Tomas Berdych arrived in Doha on Wednesday, December 26, 2018. He is welcomed by tournament director Karim Alami

Tomas Berdych grabs Doha wild card to kick off 2019 season

DECEMBER 24, 2018

by JOVICA ILIC  | Tennis World USA

The 33-year-old Tomas Berdych has been one of the most consistent players in the last 15 years besides the 'Big Four,' winning 13 ATP titles from 31 finals and scoring more than 600 ATP wins, including 143 at Grand Slam level.

Tomas was the semi-finalist at all four Majors, losing 2010 Wimbledon final to Rafael Nadal and standing as one of the most successful players who never lifted one of the biggest trophies in tennis. In fact, he claimed his only Masters 1000 title in Paris 2005 when he was just 20, never repeating the same feat again.

The Czech usually struggled against the rivals ranked in front of him but he was rock solid against the rest of the field, notching 53 top-10 triumphs and spending more than six years inside the top-10 without leaving the elite group between 2010-16.

Berdych has been ranked inside the top-25 in the year-end standings for 13 consecutive seasons but he started to slow down a little bit in 2016, reaching just three ATP finals in the last three years and missing the most of 2018 due to a back injury.

Despite playing in the quarter-final of the Australian Open, Tomas played just 22 matches before skipping the second part of the year, deciding to end his season after Queen's and dropping out from the top-50 a few weeks later for the first time since October 2005.

The Czech will make a return in Doha and Auckland, receiving a wild card at both tournaments and hoping to find the form before the start of the Australian Open where he has to defend 360 points. Berdych has been the regular traveler to Doha, playing there in five of the last six years and reaching the final in 2015 and the semi-final in the next two years.

Ranked outside the top-70, Tomas could face some of the players from the top in the very first round, with Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Karen Khachanov as the top seeds. After that, Berdych will make his first appearance in Auckland and these tournaments should serve as the best possible preparation for the first Grand Slam of the season, feeling motivated to reach the high level once again and stay on the Tour for a few more years.