Ricky Dimon of the Grandstand and Pete Ziebron of Tennis Acumen preview and pick the two men’s singles matches on Tuesday at the Australian Open. Tomas Berdych is looking to upset nemesis Rafael Nadal while Nick Kyrgios hopes to continue his magical run at the expense of Andy Murray.
(7) Tomas Berdych vs. (3) Rafael Nadal
Ricky: How many people are going to fall into the trap and pick this one to be extremely competitive–if not pick Berdych to win altogether? I already know a lot of people are…and I’m expecting more and more to do so before the match starts. The Czech’s style is one that should trouble Nadal and his form at this Australian Open has been scary. But…but…we’ve seen this story before and we know how the story ends. Berdych is 0-17 in his last 17 matches against Nadal and on more than a few occasions he was playing incredible tennis prior to meeting the Spaniard. The best among a plethora of examples is Wimbledon in 2010, when Berdych took Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to the woodshed in consecutive rounds then promptly lost to Nadal in straights in the championship. It doesn’t help the underdog that Nadal has dominated two matches since his second-round scare against Tim Smyczek. Berdych knows he can’t beat Nadal. HOW MANY TIMES must Nadal beat him before everyone else figures out the same thing? Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Pete: Berdych, my pre-tournament dark horse selection, comes into his quarterfinal match against Nadal having not dropped a set through the first four rounds. Berdych is appearing in his fifth consecutive Australian Open quarterfinal and he hopes to at least equal last year’s semifinal berth with a win. However, the Czech has dropped 17 consecutive matches to Nadal and has only managed to win three of 40 sets played in those contests. Nadal’s five-set, second-round thriller against Smyczek seems like long ago and now the Spaniard will seek to continue the form he showed against Kevin Anderson in the round of 16, when he cruised to a straight-set win. Berdych will manage to stay with Nadal early on and have opportunities to do damage, but it will be business as usual once again for Nadal in this lopsided matchup. Nadal 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
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(6) Andy Murray vs. Nick Kyrgios
Ricky: Murray and Kyrgios have no such extensive head-to-head history, of course, since the Aussie is really in just his second season on tour. In their only previous encounter, Kyrgios was still in a twilight zone after Wimbledon and got clobbered by Murray 6-2, 6-2 in Toronto. It won’t be so lopsided this time around with the youngster in outstanding form and enjoying circus-like crowd support. But Kyrgios has been tested physically throughout this tournament and mentally he has had plenty to think about (minor controversy over his on-court antics, for example). His awesome run this fortnight has been predicated on winning free points in the most important moments. He won’t win many of those against the Scot. Murray 7-6(6), 7-5, 6-1.
Pete: At the ripe age of 19, Kyrgios finds himself in his second quarterfinal in the last three majors. The Aussie has been able to meander his way through a tricky draw, finally steadying his game late in his first-round match and then escaping yet again in the round of 16 as he staged a dramatic, five-set victories in both. Murray, a three-time Australian Open finalist, has taken a much more efficient route into this quarterfinal. The Brit had not been threatened in the tournament until the fourth round, when Dimitrov nearly took him to a fifth set. The battle-tested Kyrgios will feed off of the boisterous crowd at Rod Laver Arena, but it will certainly not be nearly enough against the experience and craftiness of Murray, who will relish this particular challenge and gladly play the villain role. Murray 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4.
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Well done Muzza! Onwards and upwards!!
Funny how most pundits were expecting Rafa to win easily against Berdy and Muzza to struggle against Kirios. Opposite has happened.
A.Murray’s QF opponent:
since the middle of last year
http://thumbs.gograph.com/gg64313249.jpg
Thank goodness for Murray. He played a clever canny match that was fun to watch. Made up a bit for the heartache of seeing Rafa go out.
I knew Murray would destroy Kyrgios…this young fellow is not amongst my favorite people…he has bad on-court manners and he seems rather arrogant for his age…good for him to be back on the ground…he was flying too high…this is what injured and non-fit Rafa does to his opponents…they all begin thinking how extraordinary they are..and it hits them right back into their face…
I never doubted Andy’s victory today…and he will beat Berdy as well…I am afraid Berdy won’t manage to take a set from Andy…
The fact is that Seppi should have beaten Kyrgios in the fourth round and then we would have been spared having to see him hang around this long. I do not like this kid at all. Not one bit! Way too big for his britches, considering that he has yet to do anything in this sport.
I didn’t see the match but hope to see a replay today. I am happy that Murray dispatched him with ease! Now Kyrgious can retreat back into obscurity. Is he going to actually play some tournaments on a regular basis or just wait for the next slam?
I thought Murray would dispatch him much quicker, anyway I’m glad he’s gone because his brand of tennis doesn’t appeal to me. Not too sure about Murray being the favourite against Berdych though because Berdy leads their h2h.
I hope you are right…I would really like to see Berdych wining as he sure deserves it…he did not lose a single set this whole tourney…
augusta, you should talk to the author of the article, not me…maybe they meant tapes on his wrist not fingers…I have no idea…but it caused worries to learn that Rafa played double handed forehand in this match…that was not without reason…
No tape on Rafa’s wrist
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8WtTphCIAEZ33S.png
no tape AFTER the match…and this is his right hand…he plays forehand with his left hand as far as I know…
natashao2013 says:
January 27, 2015 at 12:02 pm,
I already posted a picture of his LEFT hand (above).
natashao2013 says:
January 27, 2015 at 12:02 pm
Where are tapes supposed to be on his wrist(s)?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8WyhAxCEAEhBcj.png
augusta, you are not proving anything with these photos except that it clearly shows that Rafa was in some kind of pain…I am not saying I know anything about any injury…I only FEAR that was the case and I might as well be wrong, that is, I certainly HOPE I am wrong…
natashao2013 says:
January 27, 2015 at 12:18 pm
—augusta, you are not proving anything with these photos—
I want to KNOW WHAT tapes the author of the article (you posted) is talking about!
this article is on the front page of the AO web site…you could post your question there and I believe they would answer…please let us know if you do get some info…
Honestly, haters will hate. I have just seen a comment from an obvious Fedfan that since FO2014 Rafa hasn’t made a semi final nor has he beaten a Top 10 player.
Yes, that would be the same Nadal who basically went on sick leave for the better part of 2014.
Sigh………….
well, every day we learn how to live with humiliation of Rafa and with certain type of torture of his fans…it’s amazing how all fans unite against Rafans…Nole’s, Fed’s , Murray’s…they are all happy when Rafa loses…I hope there will be a day to shut them all up, a day when Rafa surpasses Fed’s slam record…
Vamos Rafa no matter what!
This is why I am in awe of the general Rafan family, @nats. What they have to put up with every time Rafa loses……..
natashao, I have stopped reading websites where people comment on tennis long ago, works for me.Of course not all Fed fans and Nole fans are haters, far from it. Probably the hating kind post more often. Personally I don’t recall any Murray fans being this way. As for Rafa’s accomplishments, we’ll have to see whether his body can really hold out long stretches year after year to make it 18 slam or more… that’s a very big ask. Nothing will shut up hating people in any case.
@chloro, true indeed…I myself will start to lower the expectations regarding Rafa’s accomplishments…but the hope remains…even if he does not make it I will still consider him the greatest of all time…he was only 19 when he won his first FO…but his body is obviously letting him down…it’s unfortunate for such a great talent, such a hard working person and such a warrior…he deserves better…
Murray in 3 losing exactly 12 games, with 1 tiebreaker. Congratulations to me.
nadline10 – January 27, 2015 at 8:42 am
You make it sound as if I’m the bearer of ill omens.
It’s not my intention and, in fact, I wasn’t right at all in my prediction since I thought Berdych would only win if he stretched it to TBs, which he didn’t even have to.
You know I come here very seldom and even less last year since Rafa was MIA but I never intend to make people nervous by spreading pessimism.
I actually also thought that Rafa would win against the Bird and just commented on his lack of competition.
No worries though, he’s done very well reaching QFs and he’s only going to get better throughout the season. Vamos Rafa!
🙂
Ricky, Berdych didn’t prove anything!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8XKbuRCcAEI0FT.png
well I got the score right, just in reverse order and for the wrong player!! lol. Well done to TomBer. Is this finally his year? I would be ok with him winning or any other player who has never won AO before. Not you Nole, or you Standard.
I think Nole can already take a photo with AO trophy…who is going to stop him? Stan “did nothing after beating an injured Rafa” Wawrinka? Raonic is certainly out of question as he had trouble beating Feli the other day and he does not have the game to trouble Nole anyway…and Andy just needs to play his best tennis to beat Nole at the AO but he certainly is not there yet…IMO only Kei can make Nole work hard provided he can beat Wawa…yet Kei does not have the wining mentality and he will most likely choke and lose again…
@natashao – you are probably correct; however, we all thought that (at least I did) Nole was unstoppable at the USO14 and look what happened? Kei beat Nole. If Berdych can end his 17-match losing streak, I can only hope that either Milos, Andy, Kei or Tomas win this whole thing.
[Excerpts]
SPORT360.com, January 27, 2015 ¤¤ Rafael Nadal’s Australian Open drubbing no disaster, admits uncle Toni.
Toni Nadal insists Rafael Nadal’s straight sets defeat to Tomas Berdych is no tragedy and that the Spaniard will respond to it the only way he knows how – by working hard.
Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni, admits the world No3 started the tournament lacking confidence but that grew as he advanced through the rounds and by the time he played Berdych, Nadal was in “perfect form”.
But Toni has no real explanation for Nadal’s poor level against Berdych in the opening two sets.
“Before the match I thought we were in perfect form because in the last match Rafa played very well against Kevin Anderson,” said Toni. “I thought he could perform well against Berdych. At the beginning he didn’t play well enough, he had problems with his backhand… it was a bad match.
“He played bad and when he reacted, it was too late.”
Nadal hasn’t lost to Berdych in his last 17 meetings with the Czech but Toni doesn’t think the No7 seed has done anything differently to end that dismal streak.
“I don’t think that Berdych changed anything in his approach, I think he played his game and faced a Rafa who played bad in the first two sets. And when Rafa reacted the way we had hoped he would react, it became a tough match for both, the same as in previous years,” he explained.
“Being down two sets was too much of a gap. We lost the match in the first two sets.
“The truth is that Rafael served badly, he felt a bit nervous and had some double faults. Berdych came out with the idea not to rally much and to attack more.”
Nadal is expected TO START TRAINING AGAIN next Monday in preparation for the clay tournaments in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires (starting February 16 and 23).
While this was one of the heaviest defeats Nadal has suffered in his grand slam career, Toni is not worried about how his nephew will rebound from this.
“The same way we always react to a loss. By working hard. It’s not a big problem,” said Toni. ¤¤
http://sport360.com/article/international/32010/rafael-nadals-australian-open-drubbing-no-disaster-admits-uncle-toni
Vamos Uncle Toni!!
It’s good to hear from Uncle Toni. I love how he puts it all in perspective. He didn’t mention anything about an injury either. I loved his analysis of the match. Rafa lost it in the first two sets and when he woke up and started playing the way he normally would have, it was simply too late.
To hear PMac going on and on, one would think that Berdy had reinvented the sport of tennis! He really is insufferable. Boorish to an extreme. I don’t think Berdy did anything really different at all. Rafa handed it to him in the first two sets. Anyone who thinks that Rafa was going to lose those first two sets in lopsided fashion playing the way he normally does, is kidding themselves. That was not our Rafa. At least that was acknowledged by PMac and the other ESPN commentators. If Rafa came out playing his game, then the match would have been more tightly contested. He still could have lost, but the score would not look like it did.
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/01/berdych-praises-new-coach-dani-vallverdu-after-win-over-nadal/53836/#.VMe8H039nIU
Isn’t it funny how players praise a coach when they win, especially if it’s a new coach, and dump him when they start losing??
not really. Its entirely expected.
Expected for everyone except Rafa……….
There is some discussion on VB about Rafa grabbing his hamstring and back at one point. They also said that he was kneading his thigh on the changeover after the first set. So that’s probably why he took the pill. Rafa wouldn’t want to talk about any physical problem because of how he has been accused of making excuses. He wanted to give Berdy credit for playing better.
It could just be one of those things that happen when a player hasn’t been active for a while and then is competing in best three out of five set matches. I think Rafa went as far as he could. I admire him for fighting through illness to win that second round match. He could have easily lost it or retired. He did a great job to get to the quarterfinals in his first slam since he came back. He showed so much heart and there were moments when we saw flashes of vintage Rafa. I think he will take good things out of this result.
I thought before the match that if ever there was a time for Berdy to get a win, this was it. I didn’t think Rafa’s backhand was firing the way it should. I was concerned that he simply wouldn’t be able to get to a high enough level to win here. If he made it through the quarterfinals, I believe he would have lost in the semis. I did not think he could win this tournament. But I wanted to enjoy every minute that I could see Rafa on the court.
I think it’s harder as a player gets older. Rafa had a great comeback in 2013 after being out for seven months. But he took it slow, starting in the South American clay season. Now he’s two years older and it doesn’t get any easier. It will just take time.
I don’t know what to expect of Rafa’s body. We will just have to watch him and see what happens. One thing I know for sure – Rafa will give it his all. I would never bet against him.
beautiful post…thank you for the info…