Wimbledon 2011: Towering Tomas Berdych Flies Under Radar

Previously having written on Jelena Jankovic, new SB Nation contributor Tumaini Carayol is back with his second piece this Wimbledon.  Enjoy.

As Wimbledon moves into the second week, the stakes become increasingly higher and the matches become tougher. In the men's draw, all eyes shift squarely onto tennis' "big four," and the questions surrounding them. Can Nadal win his third Wimbledon in a row? How will Djokovic bounce back from his first loss of the year? Will Federer continue his recent resurgence on his favoured grass? And, of course, can Murray finally make Britain proud?

One elite player, however, has stormed into the second week so far under the radar that English-speaking journalists haven't even bothered to attend his press conferences--Tomas Berdych, the sixth-seed and last year's runner-up.

On the one hand, Berdych is completely deserving of his underdog status. After a consistent but unspectacular year, Berdych completely unraveled at the French Open, falling at the very first hurdle to journeyman Stephane Robert. As hard as it is to remove the image of him squandering match point to Robert, though, it is also tough to forget about the way he bulldozed his way through the Wimbledon draw last year, losing a total of one set in his wins against defending champion Federer in the quarters and third-seeded Djokovic in the semis.

And on that and that alone, Berdych is certainly in with a chance of doing a repeat. Last year's accomplishments weren't simply the product of his form coming together for a "fluke" run. Rather, it was because he knew exactly what to do on the grass.  His big serve and brutal groundstrokes are complemented by his knowledge of how to construct points on the hallowed grass of Wimbledon, as well as his willingness to stride forward to finish points off at the net.

Berdych's form this week has been a far cry from his various calamitous defeats this year. He is the lone player in the fourth round to have not lost more than 4 games in a set.

Berdych's biggest test came on Friday when rain stopped his match only two games from victory against American Alex Bogomolov, Jr. Many players could (and in the past have) unravel in such a circumstance, but not Berdych. He came back on Saturday, banged down a couple of aces and a few winners, and closed out the win in three minutes, without losing a single point.

If that's not a sign that he intends to step up on the hallowed lawns of Wimbledon once again, I don't know what is.