Tomas Berdych will get another shot–whether he wants it or not–against Rafael Nadal on Friday in Madrid. A semifinal spot is at stake, with the winner to face an unseeded opponent in either Roberto Bautista Agut or Santiago Giraldo.
Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych will be squaring off for the 21st time in their careers when they collide in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday.
It is one of the most well-documented head-to-head histories of the current era on the ATP Tour. Berdych’s 3-17 record against Nadal is not historically bad, but he has lost an incredible 16 in a row since leading 3-1 following the 2006 campaign. The Czech once won this matchup in Madrid, but that was back when the event was held on indoor hard courts. Nadal has taken 14 of the last 15 sets from Berdych dating back to the 2012 Australian Open. They were supposed to face each other earlier this season in the Miami semis, but the underdog withdrew due to illness.
Nadal has had no trouble so far this week as he hopes to bounce back from consecutive quarterfinal losses in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. The top-ranked Spaniard destroyed Juan Monaco 6-1, 6-0 before taking care of Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-4 on Thursday. He is now 27-5 for the year, which includes titles in Doha and Rio de Janeiro.
Speaking of lopsided head-to-heads, Berdych kicked off his 2014 Madrid campaign by once again hammering Kevin Anderson, against whom the world No. 6 is now 11-0. He followed up that 6-1, 6-4 victory with a much more impressive 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 scalp of Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. Berdych’s 26-6 record is highlighted by a triumph in Rotterdam and a semifinal performance at the Australian Open. He finished runner-up to Carlos Berlocq last week on the clay courts of Oeiras.
“He’s a very dangerous player on every single surface,” Nadal said of his opponent. “Here even more with the altitude. The ball flies very fast and his serve is very difficult to break. My goal is to try to be aggressive. I know that to play against him I can’t leave many spaces on the court. If he strikes the ball in comfortable positions, I’m nearly dead, because he has a really high ball speed.”
It is true that the altitude will help Berdych, but the surface will not allow him to replicated what transpired in Madrid eight years ago. Although the sixth seed’s flat firepower will present a much sterner test than anything Monaco or Nieminen brought to the table, the mental block of his past failures against Nadal will be too much to overcome.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing more than 8 games
[polldaddy poll=8031895]
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/464469999953137664/photo/1
Who will be No. 1 in the Race to London if he wins Madrid?
#Rhetorical
1. Rafa – 3865
2 . Wawrinka – 3545
Rafa, the Bird is playing well, so you need to be on top of your serves…….lets see you raise that trophy on Sunday!! Vamos!
Vamos Rafa!
Pluck the Big Bird!!
He’s already been plucked many times – he needs to well and truly truss him.
This will be another ritual slaughtering
Rafa in 2
Nishi v. Feli
NID
6:2, 6:1
This will be a competitive match. The first real test for Rafa. It sounds like Rafa knows exactly what he has to do. He should think of this as just another match, not a quarterfinal one. No nerves or mental blocks here! I think a good win here should set Rafa up nicely for the semis.
The question is – does Berdy believe that he can beat Rafa now that he has shown himself to be mortal so far this clay season? I don’t see it happening here.
Come on, Rafa! Let’s go out and do this!
Can’t say I’m serene here…………
What to do when it is too late for a lunchtime drink and too early for aperitifs?
^^pretend you’re in another time zone and quaff away!!
………Vamos Rafa!
Bull in the house!!
Is there any other player out there scrutinized this much?
RT @NeilHarmanTimes: “Rafa lays towel on clay, lays bag on towel, opens bag precisely, takes off track-suit top, then rolls track-suit top up and shoves in bag”
There’s no choice will have to put up with Gobbie Robbie and the dreaded Jason – i’m fit to be tied already 🙁
they are the 2 best
They are good but Cahill is better.
Mo in the chair!
40-30
1-0 Berd
BP saved by Rafa
With Rafa in his inconsistent funk, Berd in two is the call.
Not ready to say he’s back just yet.
#BelieveItWhenISeeIt
HOLY RETURN OF SERVE
Break Rafa!
If Rafa wins this, he will be sans funk IMO. This is the type of match he usually wins.
#FairweatherTodayNo?
more:
simply a bit frustrated waiting for Rafa’s funk to be over clearly, wondering when
rather than fairweather
is you and us, no?
Not sure which is worse: watching Rafa beat himself or someone beating him when he has played well. I’ll take the latter (especially since it hardly ever happens).
It’s like Rafa needs to hit a middle ground of winning enough to get his confidence high but not winning everything to the point that he is expected to win which makes him nervrous.
Triple set point! C’mon Rafa.
VAMOS!
One more set to exit funk!!!
if Nadal loses in the semis to either RBA or Giraldo, it’s safe to say he is in an even bigger slump than he was before Madrid
How’s he playing? I’m just checking the score.
that explains it! I thought you were at work, like me, and unable to watch streaming video
set Nadal
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Awesome commentary Ricky.
#Helpful
Neil Harman @NeilHarmanTimes 47m
Oooh I say! Mr Nadal is playing some rather lovely stuff
Thank you Mr. Harmans.
Double break Rafa!!!!
He is back for sure, no?
Started streaming to watch him serve it out.
0-15
Sealed with an ace.
Vamos!!!
Just what the doctor ordered. Yippeeee
Just. Wow.
I like Berdych. I really do. He’s my RITB’s Pico.
Awesome Rafa!
^^Hahaha! I am not the only one running with the hounds and hunting with the hares selectively!
#TheyHaveInternetInIreland
Watch ritb. I’ve got internet access in Ireland.
Didn’t Rafa do well. Couldn’t watch it but the scoreline looks impressive!
I could only watch bits and pieces of it because life kept interrupting but what I saw was brilliant. I will watch the full tape tonight relaxing over a glass of wine.
What was impressive about this victory for me was that this was a beat-down of a quality opponent, not Elvis or such. Yes, Berdy does not have the game to trouble Rafa but given Rafa’s recent funk, this has to count for a lot.
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/464786236054716416/photo/1/large
Chris Fowler @cbfowler 1m
Fans of @RafaelNadal saying that’s more like it. Vintage clay dominance in crushing Berdych. Makes SF at depleted Madrid masters.
Phew. We broke the 2014 clay quarters hoodoo………………
C’mon Rafa! There’s a trophy waiting to be bitten. Oh Lord no, not that rude looking, Tiriac monstrosity……………………
technically, that’s Sprint 2014 clay quarters hoodoo… Rafa did win in the winter on clay, no? 🙂
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/464785458023895040/photo/1
@ed251137, avert your eyes now…………….. 😀
https://twitter.com/jamie_murray/status/464789274630844417/photo/1
I don’t understand why that board shows Nadal vs Berdych as 17-0. It’s 17-3, right?
Those are winning streaks I guess. Connors beat Gottfiied 13 times in a row but was 17-2 overall.
That was my first thought. But I am quite sure the winning streak is at most 16 long.
#BeingTheNitPickyTwat
chloro (at 6:26 pm)
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=N409&oId=BA47
augusta: exactly. Rafa won their first encounter. Then a streak of 3 wins by Thomas. Then 16 by Rafa. Why 17-0?
chloro (at 6:50 pm)
16 + the win today.
thank you
penny has dropped
ok, here for more nitpickytwatness:
the Head to Head Dominance is misleading / confusing. Probably done to be sensational. Dominance is when the H2H has a large number on one side and is very lopsided. For example Nadal Berdych 18 – 3. That board should say something like Head to Head Streaks.
#TalkingAboutStreaksAndEmperors
Ricky@1:55pm
They talk too much, including through the points, and over analyse. I dont appreciate being given a coaching lesson for the entirety of the match.
I respect your judgement as a tennis player. I’m speaking as a non-playing tennis fan.
Gimelstob is the worst in that regard. Way worse than Koenig and Goodall.
David Mercer is the GOAT of bad biased unprofessional annoying commentary.
#Fact
^^The setting for the Tennis Channel commentary makes it even more conducive to non-stop blathering. Gimelstob, Haber, and Davenport are in the studio in Los Angeles, sitting on comfy couches facing one another, like it’s some sort of coffee klatch. It’s an environment that just encourages excessive conversation.
This!
Ricky,
Spot on!
Iker Casillas (the captain of FC Real Madrid and the Spanish national football /soccer team) watched Rafa’s match.
Rafa goes to watch Real Madrid and Real Madrid comes to watch Rafa! A really nice friendship!
https://twitter.com/augustazeight/status/464790038338093056/photo/1
It will be RBA vs Rafa………
[polldaddy poll=8034688]
I don’t trust RBA at all………………..
Well, coming from the one who is the chief culprit of running with the hounds and hunting with the hares, I have to say that this was the best match I have seen Rafa play yet this clay season. This was what I was hoping for today. I only got to see the last bit of the first set and the second set. I will catch the replay later on. But from what I saw, this was so much more like the real Rafa.
He needed a win against a quality player and he got it! Berdy played well, but Rafa was jut too good. I was impressed by his ROS. Nice! The best thing was seeing him get the early break in the second set and then consolidating and holding his serve. Good to see! Movement was brilliant.
This will give Rafa some real confidence going into the semis. He got past the quarterfinals! It doesn’t matter that Berdy has never beaten him. Neither had Almagro or Dolgo. I thought it would be tougher that it was, but Berdy seemed deflated after losing the first set. That’s what lack of belief does to a player. I thought he might be more competitive, knowing Rafa’s troubles. But he still cannot solve the Rafa puzzle.
Rafa won’t take RBA for granted. But playing like this, I don’t know that it matters. He has such a great shot at getting the win here, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Rafa was SO happy after the win!
Hehehe! At least Tiriac’s lady “player-guards” have job descriptions:
1. Hold umbrella, shield Rafa from the sun;
2. Stare into the distance pretend not to notice Rafa
https://twitter.com/andreapetkovic/status/464858021546713089
^^She couldn’t hold out.
https://twitter.com/tennis_shots/status/464859976700526593/photo/1
^^^^^Classic 😀
Settling in to watch the Rafa/Berdy match now……………..
[polldaddy poll=8035411]
If Rafa plays the way he did against Berdy or even better, then it’s no contest with RBA. It can go either way when a player gets to the semis of a Masters tournament for the first time – he can be overwhelmed by the occasion or just come out with nothing to lose and swing for the fences. But I don’t really think it’s going to matter. Rafa in two sets losing 5-7 games is my pick.
I would have picked Nishi over Ferrer, but after watching his match today with Lopez and seeing him getting treatment on his back a few times I have to go with Ferrer in three sets. It’s too bad that Nishi seems to always be troubled by injuries, especially now when he is playing so well. Ferrer is a beast and Nishi would have to be at his best physically to have a chance to beat him.
When Rafa lost Barcelona, I was thinking that maybe he is saving himself for wimbledon. He now knows that he cannot possibly win 4 clay titles and RG and Wimbledon anymore at his age now.
He went slow for the first 2 tourneys and will now go all out to win Madrid, Rome, RG and wimbledon.
I don’t know @atul1985, he looked like he truly was in a funk to me, struggling to find his range, that much was clear in MC. The loss to Almagro in Barcelona was baffling to me, especially since he appeared on top of his game in the first set. The way his level dropped in the 3rd set was truly disturbing. However, your point about aging is valid, age catches up with all of us, even great tennis players.
It will be interesting to see how Rafa structures his season going forward because he certainly cannot maintain this heavy schedule forever.
rafaisthebest@May 10, 2014 at 7:16 am
Rafa will be free to choose whether to play at the Masters or not after he turns 31 years old (by the beginning of a season). He is still too young!
Don’t agree he went slow, he was in bad form for sure.
BUT BUT I wont be surprised if he wins Madrid, Rome, French, Wimby..it is def doable. He is def not crapping out in 1st/2nd round at Wimby.
Having said that a win in all 4 tourneys wont surprise me at all neither will a loss in all 4. You cant say anything about Rafa these days :-), its all between the ears
If he achieves the French-Wimby double, it will be a heroic feat at 28..4 years after he last did it in 2010.
atul@4:24 am
It is clear players aiming for the Majors do conserve energy in the run-up tournaments. i.e. form in Toronto and Cincinnati has never been a reliable indicator of form for the USO. Tweaking aspects of their game prior to a Major may also impact on their results.
Personally I believe Rafa is incapable of holding back even if he is nearly crippled. He is constantly refining his game so even subtle changes until they are proven may well be making him uncertain: this, combined with the run of losses this year, would account for the plummeting loss in confidence.
RITB@7:16am
Since 2008 Federer has structured his schedule to peak at the Slams. So much so I sometimes feel he uses the Masters as no more than practice sessions for the next Major. The exception is when he is chasing ranking points in which case he rocks up to 500 and even 250 tourneys.
ed251137@May 10, 2014 at 10:03 am
Fed’s withdrawals and struggling due to injuries have always been called ‘good scheduling’ by his fans. Funny, no?
I tend to agree that Rafa was just in bad form and suffering from lack of confidence. I don’t think Rafa is capable of taking it slow and saving himself. I do think that he has done things to help give him more longevity in his career, i.e. playing more aggressive and shortening points instead of trying to slug it out from the baseline, not running down every single ball if it’s really out of play.
I don’t get the sense that Rafa thinks that far ahead. I feel that he tries to stay in the moment. I think players want to win if at all possible. I don’t think Rafa would consciously want to lose both MC and Barcelona, especially with all the points at stake and wanting to get some momentum and good feelings.
I thought about something Rafa said in an interview recently. He was asked if he felt fresher and rested because of the early losses in MC and Barcelona. He said that it’s better for him to keep playing and winning, better for his game. So Rafa doesn’t need rest.
I am not going to talk about any expectations at the moment. I just want to see Rafa get this win in Madrid. I think that could turn it all around for him, especially at the one clay tournament where he has not dominated. This would be a huge win for him at a time when he really needs it.