Berdych takes Tie Break Tens event, beating Nadal in final

Tomas Berdych won Wednesday’s Tie Break Tens tournament at Melbourne Park, where eight players participated in a bracket format involving super-tiebreakers (first to 10 points, win by two). Berdych beat Rafael Nadal 10-5 in the final.

Nadal destroyed Lucas Pouille 10-1 in the quarterfinals–obviously the night’s most lopsided margin of victory. The top-ranked Spaniard endured a much tougher semifinal against Lleyton Hewitt, saving one match point before prevailing 13-11. Berdych picked up wins over Nick Kyrgios and Milos Raonic before toppling Nadal in the title tiebreaker.

Hewitt has retired from singles, but he is playing doubles at the upcoming Australian Open with Sam Groth.

Although Stan Wawrinka had been scheduled to participate on Wednesday, he was a late withdrawal and replaced by Raonic. Wawrinka has not played an official tournament since Wimbledon due to a knee injury, but Tie Break Tens organizers said it was a shoulder issue that sidelined him this time around.

Nadal forehand winner vs. Hewitt:

Ridiculous doubles point, Kyrgios and Dominic Thiem vs. Hewitt and Novak Djokovic:

Results

Quarterfinals:
Hewitt 10-6 over Djokovic
Nadal 10-1 over Pouille
Berdych 10-8 over Kyrgios
Raonic 10-7 over Thiem

Semifinals:
Nadal 13-11 over Hewitt
Berdych 11-9 over Raonic

Final:
Berdych 10-5 over Nadal