Wimbledon 2013: Talking points from Day 2

Tomas Berdych has a chance

Of all the men that played yesterday, the person I was most impressed with was Tomas Berdych. So often the nearly man, Berdych had a nightmare grass court campaign last year. He lost twice in the first round at Wimbledon and the Olympics to Ernest Gulbis and Steve Darcis (remember him?). The big man tends to struggle with his footing, especially on the first couple of days when the show court grass is particularly slippery. Yesterday though, he dispatched the dangerous Martin Klizan with relative ease.

Klizan is a big-hitting left-hander who took a set off Rafael Nadal at the French Open in May and has the potential to be a top 20 player in the next two years. Berdych, though, played brilliantly to out-hit and out-serve the Slovakian, winning 92% of points on his first serve. Berdych’s pedigree on grass is beyond question. He reached the final in 2010 beating both Federer and Djokovic with ease en route. When he lost in the first round last year, he went onto reach the semi finals of the US Open beating Federer once again. He lost in the first round in the French Open in May, so could history repeat itself? A certain Novak Djokovic should await him in the quarter finals if that is true.