• Australian Open, Day Nine

What does it take to beat Nadal?

Tomas Berdych had to strain every sinew just to win a point against Rafael Nadal © Getty Images

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• News: Formidable Federer neutralises Del Potro threat
  
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• News: Wozniacki bows out as Clijsters marches on
  
• Profile: Victoria Azarenka | Juan Martin Del Potro | Roger Federer | Rafael Nadal

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The difficulty of beating Nadal
Tomas Berdych gave it a really good go against Rafael Nadal in Tuesday's quarter-final, taking the first set and threatening to break on several other occasions. However, even when he was winning, it somehow felt like he was losing. Take one of his break opportunities in the first set, which Berdych eventually won. At 15-40, the pair embarked on a 29-stroke rally - inevitably won by the lung-busting Nadal who pumped a fist at the conclusion of the point. It did not save the Spaniard in the set, but to his opponent you do have to wonder if Berdych lost heart at the punishing route he needed to take to beat the man across the net.

Hot dog served on a plate
Like many other shots in the game, Roger Federer is probably the man to have produced the best hot-dog. However, on this occasion Juan Martin del Potro decided he could outdo the master, only to serve up a frankfurter rather than a Butcher's choice. At 0-3 in the first, the Argentine went chasing back to retrieve a lob, opted for the hot-dog, but only succeeded in gifting Federer the easiest of volleys for the point.

Pivotal moment
Federer does not take defeats lightly, and therefore he tends to possess the memory of an elephant regarding those matches in which he does finish on the wrong side. Del Potro was the man who once denied Federer a US Open title, roaring back from a set and 5-4 down to triumph at Flushing Meadows. On Tuesday the potential for a repeat occurred. With Federer a set and 5-3 to the good, he was forced to save four break points - which he did to move two sets up. The roar that bellowed from the Swiss told the story... ghosts exorcised.

Breaking the grunt-o-meter
Victoria Azarenka remains in contention for two titles in Melbourne; one being the women's singles crown, the other being Queen of the screams. The No. 3 seed certainly has among the top set of lungs in the game, and gave herself every chance of becoming best known for her on-court yelling when she registered 91.4db on the grunt-o-meter during her quarter-final. To give some perspective, reigning world grunt champion Maria Sharapova's loudest shriek on Monday night was 93db, giving Azarenka real hope of the double crown.

Hold on
Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska started their quarter-final evidently full of nerves, with neither seemingly able to hold serve in the first set. There were eight breaks in total, with each player being guilty of dropping serve four times. It was Azarenka who calmed herself to go on with the win, but one suggests she will need to hold on a little better in the semi-finals.

A match of vast significance
Caroline Wozniacki's loss to Kim Clijsters means the Dane will no longer be the world No. 1 in the women's game when the next rankings are released. For some observers - critics if you will - that is a fitting change of events for a player who has not won a grand slam. Also fitting was the fact that Clijsters, at the back end of a glorious career, beat a world No. 1 player at a grand slam for the first time.

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