Fresh off wins over Roger Federer and Andy Murray, respectively, Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych will face each other on Saturday in the Cincinnati semifinals. The winner will go up against either Juan Martin Del Potro or John Isner for the title.
Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych will be squaring off for the 18th time in their careers when they meet in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday afternoon.
Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 14-3, including 7-3 on hard courts. Since losing three of his first four against Berdych, the Spaniard has won 13 in a row. They have faced each other twice this season, with Nadal prevailing 6-4, 7-5 in the Indian Wells semis before cruising 6-2, 6-4 at the same stage of the Rome tournament. Berdych has not defeated his nemesis since the crowd-silencing match at the Madrid Masters–when it was on indoor hard courts–in 2006.
If Berdych wants to get back on the scoreboard, he is not exactly catching Nadal at the right time do so. Cincinnati’s No. 4 seed captured the Montreal title last Sunday and so far this week he has taken out Benjamin Becker, Grigor Dimitrov, and Roger Federer. With an Indian Wells triumph also in tow, Nadal is an almost-hard-to-believe 14-0 on hard courts in 2013.
Berdych, though, is in great form as well. The sixth-ranked Czech owns a 40-15 record for the year, which includes quarterfinal finishes at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Berdych lost early in Montreal to Vasek Pospisil in a third-set tiebreaker, but he is back on track in Cincinnati. The No. 6 seed earned a place in the last four with convincing straight-set wins over Jarkko Nieminen, Tommy Robredo, and Andy Murray.
Despite his opponent’s incredible form, Berdych should have some chances in this one. In addition to his own high level of play, the court favors him and he has also played Murray in the afternoon while Nadal has contested all of his matches this week at night. Daytime conditions generally help Nadal, but he is not used to them in Cincinnati. Berdych can push the former world No. 1 around if he serves well and is finding the range on his forehand, but past head-to-head history is too glaring to expect an upset. Once again, Nadal should wear Berdych down at the end of a tight match by running the big man back and forth via a steady diet of heavy forehands.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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By making his first #CincyTennis final, Nadal has now reached finals of the 15 biggest events in tennis (4 Slams, WTFs, 9 Masters, Olympics)
Only he n Federer have achieved that
And Davis Cup?