The Beijing final in 2014 between Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych was one of the most one-sided finals ever. The Serbian had a comfortable win against Berdych who was in fine form throughout the tournament. After his defeat, Berdych was full of praise about Djokovic and compared his to the greats of the game like Roger Federer and Andre Agassi.
Tomas Berdych enjoyed a great tournament until the final, when the Czech star was defeated 6-0, 6-2 by Djokovic. Berdych was quick to admit his defeat and heaped praise on Djokovic for his clinical performance.
Novak Djokovic masterclass at the Beijing Open 2014 final
Novak Djokovic was enjoying a stellar record at the China Open as the Serbian was unbeaten in 23 matches heading into the final against Tomas Berdych. The Serbian won the match in just 66 minutes to win his fifth China Open title.
Djokovic won the first set in just 29 minutes and served Berdych a bagel. The Serbia led 5-0 in the second set and served for the championship but Berdych managed to break Djokovic’s serve to win his first game of the final. The Czech star was also delighted as he avoided becoming the first-ever player to lose an ATP final, 6-0,6-0. During the start of the sixth game of the second set, Berdych was out of ideas to win and even handed the racquet to the ball boy.
in that match, berdych tells the ball boy if she wants to play haha (the score was 06 05) pic.twitter.com/XXgffBfNVA
— Jorge 🐊 🐊 🐊 (@JorgePzzz) June 22, 2022
After the match, Tomas Berdych was full of praise talking about Novak Djokovic and compared him to Roger Federer and Andre Agassi. The Czech star added that the had not experienced anything like Novak Djokovic before.
“I have probably played maybe over 600 matches in my career, and met guys like Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, all those probably in their best times, but I have never, ever experienced anything like that.”
Tomas Berdych comparing Novak Djokovic to Roger Federer and Andre Agassi was a testament to the Serbian’s clinical performance in the final. Also, this felt like a breakout moment for Djokovic towards his journey on becoming a tennis legend.
Berdych full of praise for Djokovic
Tomas Berdych displayed incredible self-awareness in the aftermath of his defeat to Djokovic. The Czech star was ready to admit that his opponent had outplayed him and was not afraid to criticize his own performance.
“I felt pretty good. In the beginning I felt really good during the whole tournament. But I met somebody in the final who I’ve never seen before. Really the way that he performed today was really outstanding.”
Novak Djokovic enjoyed a brilliant 2014 season as he finished the year as world number 1, winning multiple Grand Slams in the process. Meanwhile, Berdych had some stellar performances as well and cemented a place in the top 10 ranking of men’s tennis.