Tomas Berdych Is One Of The Last Of Old School Czechs

Written by: Staff on 15th March 2013

Tomas Berdych Is One Of The Last Of Old School Czechs

epa03619668 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic tosses the ball for a serve against Florian Mayer of Germany during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 11 March 2013. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Tomas Berdych says he’s part of the last generation of Czech players who had to go through hard times to make it on tour. Berdych was born in 1985, four year before the fall of the Berlin Wall and seven years before Czechoslovakia was split into two counties: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Like most Eastern European countries after the Eastern Bloc dissolved, the Czech Republic struggled economically when transitioning from communism to capitalism, so Berdych didn’t have it easy.

“I think that time I think I’m going to be the last generation which the kids really had, or has been hungry to go and keep winning,” the world No. 6 said. That was the biggest motivation, because that time in Czech was not easy at all. They felt that they have a big chance to go see the world, play tennis, earn money, be famous and see it as a really big motivation. So I think that was a force for everybody. ”

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Topics: Czech tennis news, Sports, Tennis, Tomas Berdych