[VIDEO] Rafael Nadal vs Tomas Berdych highlights: 2015 Australian Open scores, blog

Match result:

Tomas Berdych has stunned Rafael Nadal with a 6-2 6-0 7-6 win to make the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the second straight year.

For the first time in 18 meetings, Tomas Berdych has defeated Rafael Nadal. After 17 straight losses, and 3 losses at Grand Slam level, Berdych has defeated Nadal to break his drought and record his first win at Grand Slam level against the Spaniard.

What was most surprising about the result, was the way Berdych won the match.

Heading into the match, Berdych was a contender, but he was going be pushed all the way by the world number 3.

His dominance over the first two sets was unbelievable.

A combination of brilliant power from Berdych, and some poor tennis from Nadal, gave the Czech player a perfect start.

Before you could blink, he was two sets up 6-2 6-0, against the 2009 Australian Open champion.

It was, statistically, the worst two sets of Grand Slam tennis Nadal.

The third set was a tighter contest as Nadal’s fighting spirit made up for his lack of form in the match.

He was holding off the inevitable though as Berdych had two match points saved in the 10th game on Nadal’s serve.

Berdych wasn’t to be denied in the tiebreaker as he brought up another two match points.

On the second one, he won the match, and dispelled all the rumours of choking against the Spanish number 1.

Today he had arrived and beaten one of the world’s best.

Despite the win, Berdych was immediately focused on his next opponent.

“Everything was working. I was able to execute it really well. But still until the last point you can’t think about anything else. You have to really keep going till the last one.”

“When I (wake) up (tomorrow), I need to get myself ready for another one. As I said, I mean, there is a still long
way to go in this tournament and I need to be ready for it,” Berdych added.

For Nadal, he conceded he didn’t play his best today.

“I tested him for one hour, for a set. For the rest of the thing I didn’t test him in general.”

“Tomas is ranked No. 7, he’s a top player. You have to play well to win against a player like Tomas. I didn’t play my best today. He played better than me and that’s it,” Nadal added.

After Andy Murray’s win over Nick Kyrgios, it will be a semi-final between Murray and Berdych on Thursday night.

Match preview:

Tomas Berdych will have to beat an imposing record against Rafael Nadal to make his second straight semi-final at the Australian Open. Join The Roar for a live blog of the match from around 3:00pm AEDT.

In the last 17 matches between the two, Berdych has not won one of them, and only won 3 sets of tennis in that time. In contrast, Nadal has won 37 out of the last 40 sets, between the two.

This domination didn’t happen at the start though, as Berdych won three of the first four contests, between the two. This included an infamous match between the two in Madrid in 2006.

Berdych won the match in straight sets, and motioned to the crowd to be quiet, when he won the contest. Nadal immediately confronted Berdych and didn’t like what he did in front of his home crowd.

He hasn’t forgotten that day, or that match. That was the last time Berdych has defeated Nadal in the ATP World Tour. Today they face each other again in Australia.

At the 2012 Australian Open, at the same stage as today, Nadal would beat Berdych in four sets, on his way to a finalist spot that year. He will be looking to repeat that today.

After a sluggish start in the tournament, Nadal has started to find form, as he has played more matches in the event.

Since almost losing to Tim Smyczek in five sets, in the second round, Nadal has not lost a set in his next two matches. This included a good win against Kevin Anderson in the fourth round.

If he continues to improve with each match then he becomes a big threat for the title. In comparison, Berdych has also been in good form, with four straight set wins to make the quarter final.

He loves the surface at the Australian Open and has only lost to a handful of players since the surface changed from rebound ace to plexicushion a few years ago.

Nadal is one of those players and would favour his chances against Berdych. His record is imposing against the Czech player and he can nullify the power in Berdych’s game.

That’s the key to the match. Can Berdych out power Nadal and control the contest? If he can, he can upset Nadal today.

Nadal heads into the match as the favourite with the bookies, and I agree. He looks to be too strong for Berdych today.

If Berdych is to win, he needs to be strong on the serve, and the forehand. Plenty of forehand winners will keep Berdych in the match.

He will win a set, or two today, but will struggle to win the match.

Prediction: Nadal 3-1