2015 Australian Open Quarterfinals Scores & Highlights: Tomas Berdych Upsets Rafael Nadal [Video]
Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic scored a huge 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 upset win over third-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Australian Open on Tuesday morning at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.
Nadal, who admitted before the tournament started that he was not in his best shape after having a long layoff due to injuries, started out flat and Berdych capitalized on the lackluster performance of the Spanish tennis superstar.
Berdych took control in the opening set and sustained the momentum in the second, handing Nadal his first 6-0 loss in a set since 2011. The 14-time Grand Slam champion had a chance to avoid a shutout, but failed to convert four break-point chances in the second set.
Nadal, who has only won the tournament once in his illustrious career, showed some life in the third set, but Berdych had answers for every rally from Nadal.
Nadal managed to save two match points in the 12th game of the third set to force a tiebreaker, where Berdych quickly took a 5-2 lead, which was enough breathing room for him to take the win as Nadal netted a return of the save in the final game of the tiebreaker.
With the win, Berdych will play in the Australian Open semifinals for the second consecutive year. The 29-year-old also ended his 17-game losing streak against Nadal, who had six double faults and 26 unforced errors on Tuesday.
"It feels great. I mean, really the good thing is, as I said, the plan that we put together was the right one," Berdych said in a news conference. "Everything was working. I was able to execute it really well. But still, I mean, until the last point you can't think about anything else. You have to really keep going till the last one."
Berdych, who lost to eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the 2014 Australian Open semifinals, will go up against Andy Murray in the semis after the sixth-seeded Briton cruised to a 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 straight-set win over Nick Kyrgios of Australia.
On the women's side, No.2 seed Maria Sharapova also advanced to the semifinals after a masterful 6-3, 6-2 win against seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard of Canada. Sharapova will next face fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who dominated third seed Simona Halep of Romania in their semis matchup 6-4, 6-0.
Complete 2015 Australian Open Day 9 results are available on this link, while more match highlights can be seen here.
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