Tomas Berdych won his first title in more than a year on Sunday after he swept past Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdarm. The seventh-ranked Czech’s last title was sixteen months ago in Stockholm. He was the only member of the world’s top ten in 2013 who hasn’t won a title.
“It feels absolutely amazing,” Berdych said. “It’s been a while, actually 16 months since I won a title. To win a title in Rotterdam it’s a nice bonus. I’m extremely happy with the way I handled it throughout the week. I’ve been serving pretty well, which has been the strong part of my game.”
“Now it’s important to keep good plans and a good schedule, keep it in good shape and good form. This is a great start for me.”
Despite the loss, Cilic will still be looking for positives in the tournament. Cilic won his fourth title in Zagreb last weekend and his final appearance in Rotterdam secures his return in the world’s top 30.
“It was a tough one today,” said Cilic. “What made the difference in the end was that Tomas served really well…Overall I think the tournament was great. I played great tennis and enjoyed it here. I had a great run of nine [straight] wins and I hope to make that run soon again.”
Berdych goes home with $330,750 in prize money plus 500 ranking points to rise to number six in the world rankings. Cilic brings home $149,135 plus 300 ranking points.
Frenchmen Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut won the doubles title after defeating Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-2, 7-6 and will split the €97,720 prize money. The runners-up will go home with €44, 090.
