World No. 3 Rafael Nadal’s quest for his second Australian Open title remains very much alive following his impressive victory over Kenny Anderson in the third round. Awaiting him in the quarterfinal round is No. 7 Tomas Berdych, who is looking to stop his losing streak against Nadal.
Top ranked players are also beginning to meet each other in the women’s bracket of the Australian Open. You can read our preview of the quarterfinal clash of No. 7 Eugenie Bouchard and No. 2 Maria Sharapova here.
Tomas Berdych made sure that his streak of quarterfinal appearances in the Australian Open will be extended after he sent local bet Bernard Tomic packing on Sunday via a 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory. Berdych’s win assured him of his fourth-straight seat in the event’s quarterfinals, dating back to 2011. A major obstacle awaits him, however, as he’ll next face Rafael Nadal.
[sc:Other240banner ]Berdych has been Nadal’s whipping boy for the most part of the Czech’s career. However, he can still pick up a lesson or two on how to beat the Spaniard from Nadal’s win over Kevin Anderson in the fourth round—particularly about Nadal’s inconsistency against first serves.
In that game, Nadal was rattled early by the salvo of first serves from the South African. Anderson was able to score eight aces, while Nadal only had three. This wasn’t the first time in this tournament that Nadal had trouble with his return game. Back in the second round, Tim Smyczek scored 15 aces against Nadal, who in turn only had three.
Berdych has been impressive with his service game thus far in this tournament. He is sixth among all entries with an 84 percent conversion rate (168 of 201) on his first serves. Furthermore, Berdych finished 2014 seventh overall in hard court aces with 411 in 52 matches.
Will Berdych pull of the upset? Create a betting account now and see the latest odds and lines of the 2015 Australian Open at Top Bet.
Betting on Rafael Nadal
Nadal is quickly rounding into top form following a scare in the second round where he managed to survive a tough challenge from Tim Smyczek, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4. After taking care of Dudi Sela in the third round (6-1, 6-0, 7-5), Nadal went on to beat Kenny Anderson in the fourth round, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4.
As mentioned above, Nadal had a hard time early on against Anderson but once he got into his rhythm, there was little Anderson could do to stop the rolling Spaniard. With those matches now behind him, Nadal is staring at a chance to clinch a semifinal spot when he faces Berdych.
Nadal definitely owns the psychological advantage over Berdych, against whom he has a career record of 18-3. In their latest meeting, Nadal earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 Madrid Masters.
Nadal will have to establish the same kind of dominance against Berdych early. To do that, he needs to avoid costly unforced errors that may give Berdych a chance to stay in the game. Nadal has committed 25 miscues against Anderson and 53 against Smyczek—the two players that have given the World No. 7 the most headaches thus far in this tournament.
Writer’s Prediction
Berdych (+140) upsets Nadal, as the Czech wins in five sets.
