Berdych packs off Nadal, Murray battles on
Print Edition
Czech Tomas Berdych ended eight years of tyranny under nemesis Rafael Nadal to storm into the Australian Open semifinals yesterday before his next opponent Andy Murray restored British colonial rule to the floodlit center court.
Maria Sharapova inflicted another grand slam reality check on Eugenie Bouchard and will play an all-Russian semifinal with plucky lefthander Ekaterina Makaraova, who thrashed third seed Simona Halep.
In the evening session, Murray struck back for the old guard, slapping down local teenager Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 to deflate home fans pumped up by the traditional sporting rivalry with former colonial masters Britain.
But it was Nadal’s 6-2, 6-0, 7-6(5) humbling on an unseasonably cold summer’s day that rocked Melbourne Park to its core and shook the biggest monkey in the men’s game off the back of Berdych.
The big-serving Czech’s 17-match losing streak to the Spaniard was the equal-longest in the professional era and snapping it was the result of a perfectly executed plan. “Oh, it feels great,” Berdych said. “Everything was working. I was able to execute it really well.”
In an intriguing twist, the man that helped Berdych create the master plan was Dani Vallverdu, Murray’s former hitting partner and assistant coach, who parted ways with the Scot in November. Now in Berdych’s camp, Vallverdu will provide the intelligence for preparations against Murray.
The rangy 29-year-old was irresistible in the first two sets against Nadal, wrapping them up in exactly an hour and giving the 14-time grand slam champion his first grand slam bagel since the 2006 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer.
“It was just not my day. I didn’t play with the right intensity, the right rhythm,” said a disappointed Nadal.
Black-clad Murray was all business against brash 19-year-old Kyrgios and needed to be for much of a high-quality encounter on a chilly, windy evening.
Kyrgios lifted to bring the crowd into the equation, but Murray rose with him, closing out the match with a barrage of scintillating winners.
Bouchard claimed to have gleaned a lot from her gutting French Open loss last year, but nothing could have prepared her for the schooling that played out. Completely dictated, Bouchard had nowhere to hide and Sharapova feasted upon her serve. She swooped in for the kill with a string of smoking winners, sealing it with a crunching inside-out forehand.
Third seed Halep had cruised into the quarterfinals by smiting lower-ranked opponents but ran head-first into a brick wall in the form of lithe left-hander Makarova. The 26-year-old blew the nerve-stricken Halep away and has not lost a set all tournament. She heads into her clash with Sharapova fresh and in top form. “I’m not shy on the tennis court. It’s a big stage,” she said. “I never beat (Sharapova), so it will be tough.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
