Berdych on the hunt for a second title of the year…
So far it has been a season of mixed fortunes for the Czech, who has only managed to claim one title back in February. However, that win in Rotterdam was his first title victory in sixteen months and once again Berdych has proven that he can mix it with the best in the Grand Slams, reaching the Australian Open semis and the quarters of the French.
Berdych has seen his singles ranking drop from fifth to seventh in the last year and he will be desperate to improve his seeding ahead to the ATP World Tour Finals in London next month.
So who are his main rivals going in to the Stockholm Open? The ever improving Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov will certainly be his biggest threat going into the tournament. Dimitrov is the defending champion in Stockholm having beaten David Ferrer in last year’s final and he also managed to beat Berdych the last time the two players met.
Another man who has what it takes to clinch this season’s title, is previous champion Gael Monfils, who won it back in 2011. This will be the unpredictable Frenchman’s third appearance at the event and on his day he could quite easily cause an upset and beat anyone on the tour. Who can forget that narrow five set loss to Federer in the US Open this year?
You feel though that this year it will be the charming Czech who will win his second Stockholm Open title. He looked really impressive in Beijing, reaching the finals in explosive style, before he eventually lost to Novak Djokovic.
