PRAGUE, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Czech tennis ace Tomas Berdych has been forced to skip next month's US Open and the warm up events that precede it due to persistent back problems.

The 32-year-old also missed Wimbledon, where he reached his only Grand Slam final in 2010, losing to Rafael Nadal.

"I have been struggling with back pain for a couple of months now and have tried every possible treatment and medical solution," Berdych was quoted as saying by Czech news agency CTK.

The US Open, the final Grand Slam event on the 2018 tennis calendar, begins on August 27. Enditem