Tomas Berdych broke his unlucky streak of 17 losses against Rafael Nadal, defeating him in straight sets of 6-2, 6-0, 7-6(5) on Tuesday afternoon in Melbourne. Later in the day, Andy Murray reached the semifinals by conquering his younger counterpart Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3.
Berdych’s last win against the Spaniard was in Madrid quarterfinals back in 2006, saving himself from becoming the only player to record 18 straight tour-level losses.
The Czech was ruthless in his attack - he never for a minute reflected the fact that he had not won against Nadal for over 8 years. His hunger for victory got him through the first two sets within an hour.
Nadal could not make a grand comeback having been out throughout most of the last season, first sustaining a right wrist injury during the summer, and later an appendicitis that needed surgery during his comeback in Beijing.
In the final set, the Spaniard tried to turn around the game to the best of his efforts, saving two match points in the 12th game, which would lead to a third set mini tie break. Berdych faced a little downfall in the final minutes of the match with a deficit of 1-5 in the tie break. But he didn’t hold back and went for the next six points with sheer confidence to wrap up victory in two hours and 13 minutes.
“It just was not my day,” said Nadal. "Sometimes, almost every time, it is simple: the player who plays better, the player who is able to maintain the better rhythm, the better concentration, play with less mistakes, is the player who has more success. And today this player has been Tomas."
Later in the evening, Murray dismantled the rising Australian star Nick Kyrgios, who became the second player to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal as a teenager after Roger Federer. Kyrgios was tough competition, having dealt with Andreas Seppi in style after facing a deficit of two sets to love in the last round.
The Scot’s experience had more weight than the newfound fanfare of Kyrgios, producing hard hitting shots during big points of the match while keeping his emotions at bay.
Kyrgios found his rhythm after the 32-minute opener and took the set to a mini tie break where he raced to a 3-2 lead. Murray found his momentum once again and at set point sent a lob inside the baseline to an impressive lead.
The Aussie was unable to keep his foot in the lead and tired as the final set progressed, while the Scot’s strong stance continued to build up. He inexorably gave Kyrgios a run for his play and earned his well-deserved break in the sixth game. The Canberra native broke back right after, but that success was short lived when Murray broke for a second time in the next game, ultimately closing out the match in just over two hours.
"I'm happy. It's nice to be in the latter stages of a slam again," said Murray. "I'm happy with that. Obviously we want to do the best possible, but all you can do is prepare as best you can, which I certainly did over the past few weeks and months, and have given myself an opportunity.
“But I've given myself a good opportunity again, and hopefully I can use it to my advantage," Murray concluded.
"It was a really good experience," said Kyrgios. "That was my first Aussie Open Grand Slam match playing on Rod Laver, so that was really cool. But he was way too good for me tonight.
“I said to him at the net, 'This is your time; go get him.' I think he's got a really good chance of winning the whole thing."
Photo credit: Ben Soloman/Tennis Australia