Tomas Berdych--Photo via The Daily Forehand's Tomas Berdych Album

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Tomas Berdych has long been touted as a possible "next big thing" in men's tennis.  He defeated Roger Federer at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, won the 2005 Paris Masters, and has reached a career high ranking of #9.  The 6'5'' 24-year old from the Czech Republic has been a fixture in the upper echelons of tennis for several years now, and still remains in the top 20 (currently ranked #16).

Berdych has also finished the past three years as the top ranked Czech in the ATP, and has been instrumental this year in leading the Czechs to their first Davis Cup final in almost thirty years.

I got the chance to talk to Tomas at length during the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, DC, where he made the quarterfinals.  We covered a lot of stuff, so I'm breaking the interview up into two parts, the first of which can be found after the jump.

TDF: You entered doubles here with Lukas Dlouhy, who is also Czech.  How seriously do you take doubles when you enter it? Are you really trying to win the tournament and get your doubles ranking up?

Tomas Berdych: Well, I wouldn’t say that if I’m playing doubles it’s the important thing in my tennis.  I take the doubles like practice.  We played the match when I had the day off, and I think for my game it really helps me.  You serve a lot, come in to the net, and that’s really what I need in my singles game.  It’s like, kind of a practice.  But anyway, if I’m coming to the court, I want to win the match.   We are two on the court, we are as a team.  Some days it’s good, some days it’s not.  [Yesterday] wasn’t our best day, so we lost.  But for the next time, I’ll like to play doubles.  But really, as I said, right now it’s very tough, and the schedule is very tough for singles.  So there’s no chance to play every tournament in doubles.

TDF: You played doubles in the Davis Cup against Argentina, and you won that match with Radek Stepanek.  Do you play doubles  now to try to get better for the next round of Davis Cup?

Tomas Berdych: No, I think the Davis Cup is completely different.  You play best of five sets, it’s a team competition, and it’s really different.  I think,with Radek, we’re playing really good.  For us, it’s better to stay with quality, not with quantity.  I think this is a good option—so far we haven’t lost a match in Davis Cup when we play together.  We have a good record, and I hope to keep it as long as we can.

TDF: Do you think the Czech Republic can win the Davis Cup this year?

Tomas Berdych: Well, I think this year we have a pretty good chance.  Already we’ve had two tough opponents, but we played at home.  Our crowd, our place—everything was on our side. 

But now we’re going to the semifinals in Croatia.  You never know there; the States played last there, and they lost.  You never know what’s going to happen there.  They have two very good players as well and it’s semifinals of Davis Cup.

But I think there is a chance we win.

TDF: You played Hopman Cup with your girlfriend, Lucie Safarova.   You guys didn’t do too well, but how did you like playing with her?

Tomas Berdych:  Yeah, it’s the beginning of the year, and you come after a long time playing indoors.  It’s really the first week of the year.  You come to Australia wanting to take it as a good preparation to the Australian Open.  I think it’s a great chance.  You can spend another week with your girlfriend, you can enjoy it. 

It’s a good place, the tournament is fantastic.  You can play three or four singles, then a few mixed matches, so I think it’s the best preparation for the Australian Open.

TDF: Have you two ever thought about playing mixed doubles at a grand slam?

Tomas Berdych: Uhh…no (laughs).  I mean, it’s more from the professional side.  I think she would like to play, but for me, when I’m playing best of five, it’s different.  It’s too much.  Imagine one day you play five sets, for four hours, and the next day you are supposed to have the day off, but you have to be like waiting the whole day for one mixed match.  It’s not good.  That’s why I don’t want to do it.  But we still play some mixed in the Hopman Cup.

TDF: A question about another Czech female tennis player, Nicole Vaidisova.  Her ranking has fallen a lot recently, and she lost in the first round of qualifying this week in Stanford, winning only three games.  Has there been a lot of talk among the Czechs about what’s going on with her?

Tomas Berdych: I mean, with the Czechs, because she quit the Fed Cup, and she quit the national team, she is not popular. 

TDF: Not popular with the other Czech players?

Tomas Berdych: Yeah, I would say that.  There are many reasons for not playing, but if you just say "I’m done, I’m not playing," well…

The people don’t like her as much.  She’s living more in the States.  So yeah, [quotation fingers] "she’s Czech".  But she’s living so much outside, so I don’t know much about her.

But this is a sport.  This is tennis.  I don’t know.  I just hope she can get better and…that’s it.

Stay tuned for part two of our interview with Tomas, which should go up sometime shortly before the Paris Masters event in October.