London, July 3 (bdnews24.com/AFP) - Wimbledon giant-killer Tomas Berdych has vowed to take the fight to Rafael Nadal in Sunday's men's singles final at the All England Club.
Czech 12th seed Berdych will be the underdog in his first Grand Slam final as he tries to subdue the rampant world number one.
Nadal is in fine form after winning the French Open last month and he produced a supreme display to defeat British fourth seed Andy Murray in three sets in the semi-finals here on Friday.
But Berdych has no reason to fear the ultra-aggressive Nadal after eliminating defending champion Roger Federer and third seed Novak Djokovic on his way to the final.
He knows Nadal will try to take the initiative right from the start of their showdown on Centre Court and the 24-year-old is determined to fight fire with fire.
"This time I think the key is to be as aggressive as possible because he wants to play really aggressively from the start," Berdych said.
"When I first played him a few years ago he was really patient and waited for the opponent's mistake.
"In the last two or three years he started to play really aggressive. That's what he's doing right here as well.
"You need to be aggressive and can't give him too many chances. I have to play my game and that is to be aggressive."
Like most of his peers, Berdych has a losing career record against Nadal, but he has defeated the Spaniard three times and believes he can upset the odds again on Sunday.
"It doesn't happen every match that you beat the first or second best player in the world," Berdych said.
"At least I have three wins against him and I can find some positive things from those matches.
"I will try to do a fourth one here. I never beat him on grass, so I think it's nice opportunity to do it right here."
Nadal has played in three previous Wimbledon finals and has vast experience of what it takes to win a Grand Slam after collecting seven major titles in his illustrious career.
In contrast, Berdych has never been this far in a Grand Slam before.
Yet he is confident his semi-final appearance at the French Open last month, which ended in defeat to Robin Soderling, will stand him in good stead on Sunday.
"Of course this is a big final. But I would say for me the new experience was the semis in French Open where it was my first time with that," Berdych said.
"I just learned a lot from that match and I hope I can really use it here for the final.
"I hope it's not going to be any more special than the other matches. I will try to be really concentrated on my game and not think about the occasion or playing Nadal."
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