By Erik Gudris | Wednesday, January 28, 2015

 

Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray find themselves in the Australian Open semifinal, yet sharing a common link in a former coach for one, a current one for the other.

Photo Credit: Corleve

Surprise semifinalists at the Grand Slams are becoming the norm recently. Now in Melbourne, Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray find themselves a win away from the final. Even though both, before the tournament started, were considered long shots to reach this stage. What makes this semi even more compelling is the back story of intrigue running through this match involving them and both of their coaches.

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Berdych, in his quest to win his first ever major title, unsuccessfully tried to woo fellow Czech and Murray's former coach Ivan Lendl to help him late last year. Around the same time Murray, when he decided to continue working with new coach Amelie Mauresmo, parted ways with long-time confidant Dani Vallverdu and fitness trainer Jez Green.

In a surprise move to many, Berdych hired the now free agent Vallverdu to be his coach before the start of the new season. So far, Berdych's "gamble" is paying off.

Berdych is playing some of his best tennis in a long time down under. He's yet to drop a set en route to the semis. That includes his blistering three set defeat of Rafael Nadal that ended a 17-match losing streak to the Spaniard. But when asked specifically what Vallverdu added that made the difference this time, Berdych chose to keep his cards close to the vest.

"You know, I think I'm going to keep it a bit secret. That's basically what the chemistry of each team is. That would be really like, you know, pointless to setting up the tactics and the way how we want to prepare for the matches if I just open up everything here," Berdych said. But he changed a lot of things. He changed a lot of positive things. And the best is I'm really able to execute them really, really quickly. That's how it should be."

Does Berdych have an edge in playing Murray now, considering the Vallverdu connection? Berdych admitted it might be an "advantage". Yet Murray when asked a similar question said it actually works both ways.

"Yeah, we'll see how the match plays out and what the tactics are and stuff," Murray said after his quarterfinal win over Nick Kyrgios. "But, you know, I also know what Dani thinks of Berdych's game because he's told me, so it works both ways."

But Murray admitted it will likely be a tad weird seeing Vallverdu now sitting with another team as he plays his match.

"I don't know, maybe I'll find it weird on the day. But, yeah, it's just something that you deal with as a player. My goal isn't to beat Dani; my goal is to beat Berdych. So I don't think about that in the next days."

While some media reports suggested that the Murray and Vallverdu break-up was amicable, others have said that Vallverdu was still unhappy with Murray about not consulting him before starting work with Mauresmo prior to Wimbledon last year.

Vallverdu recently told the BBC that he expected Berdych to play Murray in the semifinals when the draw came out. On whether either player has an edge given the new coaching dynamic, Vallverdu said, "It can be a little bit of an advantage but everyone that knows tennis knows everyone's game. It's not rocket science."

Though Mauresmo has largely stayed out of the fray, her work with Murray continues to draw scrutiny. Murray, after an up and down 2014 season, finished with a winning flourish by picking up three titles late in the year. Still, Murray's presence in the much-talked about "big four", both ranking wise and aura wise on the court, looked in doubt especially with the rise of several younger players either in or near the top ten now.

That's why there's pressure on both Murray and Mauresmo to prove that the Scot still has what it takes to contend in the late stages for Grand Slam titles. Murray winning his first Australian Open would not only satisfy him, but also allow Mauresmo to say, if not outright in the press, "I was the right choice all along."

Berdych, meanwhile, is still in search of his first ever Grand Slam title. At age 29, many believed that his window for getting to at least another major final was closing. The Vallverdu hire might have felt like desperation for some, but so far it's proving a very savvy move for the big serving Czech and keeping that window to major glory very much wide open.

"You definitely need somebody who is experienced," Berdych said about having a coach. "On such a level like I am right now, you really need someone who can bring just a little bit to add to your game, to give you that little difference compared to the others, to make a difference on the court."

Whoever wins this semifinal, expect the happy player to give big thanks to his coach for helping him reach the final Sunday in Melbourne.