• Madrid Open

Another record for Nadal as world No.1 marches on

ESPN staff
May 9, 2014
Rafael Nadal's victory was his 17th in a row over Tomas Berdych © Getty Images
Enlarge

Rafael Nadal brushed aside sixth seed Tomas Berdych to reach the semi-finals of the Madrid Open.

Nadal's 6-4 6-2 victory was his 17th in a row against Berdych - equalling the head-to-head record previously held by Ivan Lendl.

It was also the world No.1's 686th career victory as he closes in on Boris Becker - who is tenth in the all-time list on 713.

Rafa tops head-to-head records

  • Rafael Nadal's 17th straight victory over Tomas Berdych takes him joint top of the Open era head-to-head unbeaten streaks.

  • 17-0: Nadal v Berdych

    17-0: Lendl v Mayotte

    16-0: Lendl v Davis

    16-0: Lendl v Gilbert

    15-0: Ferrer v Almagro

    15-0: Federer v Youzhny

    14-0: Federer v Ferrer

    14-0: Federer v Nieminen

    13-0: Connors v Gottfried

Berdych appeared to have the upper hand in the opening exchanges, but a series of blistering forehand shots in the seventh game of the opening set from Nadal earned the first break of the match.

It did not take the Spaniard anywhere near as long in the second, as a thunderous passing winner at 1-1 gave Nadal the advantage.

He broke Berdych again for 5-2 lead and finished the job with his fourth ace of the match, which lasted just 88 minutes.

Nadal will now face Roberto Bautista Agut in the last four after his fellow Spaniard saw off Andy Murray's third-round conqueror Santiago Giraldo 6-3 6-4 in 87 minutes.

Giraldo beat Murray on Thursday, which lead to the British No.1 admitting he may fast-track his search for a new coach in the wake of his split with Ivan Lendl.

On the other side of the draw, David Ferrer made light work of Ernests Gulbis on Friday evening, beating the Latvian 7-6(3) 6-3 to reach the last four in Madrid for the first time in four years. Ferrer will play the winner of Kei Nishikori and Feliciano Lopez.

In the women's draw, Maria Sharapova is looking to take full advantage of Serena Williams' withdrawal as she battled from a set down against Li Na to book a spot in the last four.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
ESPN staff Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices