Big-serving Berkieta unafraid to scale new heights at Australian Open
Third seed Tomasz Berkieta struggled a little more than we thought he might to overcome Brazil’s Enzo Kohlmann De Freitas at the 2024 Australian Open Junior Championships.
Berkieta, a semi-finalist at last year’s championships, came through 7-6 (1) 3-6 6-2 in his second round clash but it was a struggle, and he felt he should the done better.
At the end and after shaking his opponent’s hand, the 17-year-old Pole walked to the edge of the court and handed over his white cap and wristbands to several of the ballkids.
“I was a ballboy in the past so I know how it feels to get a cap or something. I promised myself back then that if I played in such a tournament then I would have a lot of respect,” he said.
“I worked at a WTA tournament in Poland for five years. I know how hard it is when let’s say the weather is not nice. It’s perfect for a holiday but for playing and standing there for two hours it’s not nice and I appreciate it more because I know how hard the work is."
So, immediately Berkieta is one of the good guys. He is not to be messed with either, tall and very muscular and he can smack the ball hard. Harder in fact than any other player in the 2024 Australian Open to-date.
While his average serve came in at 200 kmh today, one particular thunderbolt stood out, a 233 kmh barnstormer arriving in the first set. The American Ben Shelton held the previous record this AO, a 228 kmh effort in round one that feels almost tepid by comparison.
“Yesterday I was joking about this with some players, saying I want to go one more than Shelton,” said Berkieta.
“I did so it’s great but nobody is going to remember that because it’s the juniors. I would love to see myself on the top of the list but I don’t think they will do it.”
As well as being some player, Berkieta is a thoughtful and engaging personality. He was unhappy with his serve which was stressing him out.
“In the first set we broke each other, something like five times in a row. I didn’t expect that," he added.
“Normally when I am breaking, I am winning a set pretty much all the time so I am just waiting for one break. In my head I am winning the set so today was different and I am glad I found my serve. I don’t know what happened here I didn’t feel easy.”
It is not impossible to suggest that his pre tournament preparation may not have been ideal.
"He is used to the temperature (mid 20s), he’s from Brazil, it’s probably natural," he said. "I was preparing myself in Finland, minus 10 degrees.
“Yeah, just before I came here I was one week in Finland. Indoors but it felt different.”
There is a pressure that comes with being a higher ranked player he said.
“I have expectations but I hide them in my head because in juniors it’s tough to make the same results year after year," he explained.
“I love playing here, I love the atmosphere even though I was stressed out. The big courts really helped me as I want to win on this court. We will see what happens next round.”
He has not yet ventured out into Melbourne this year but will do so post tournament, possibly visiting the heights as well as the sights.
"Last year after the tournament we went to the highest building in Melbourne to see the drop,” he said referring to the Melbourne Skydeck, a 285 metre high experience where visitors can venture out over a glass floor to look down upon the city.
“I did step over,” he said. “I am the type of person who has to go to some dangerous places. Also my father is afraid of heights so I had to make him go there”
Some player. Some person.