• ATP World Tour Finals

Relentless Nadal bulldozes his way into semi-finals

Rafael Nadal was brilliant in attack but his defence against Tomas Berdych was key to his victory © Getty Images

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Rafael Nadal set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with Britain's Andy Murray after overcoming the stern test of Tomas Berdych 7-6(3) 6-1 at the O2 Arena.

The Spaniard, who came into the Group A encounter with a healthy 8-3 head-to-head record with Berdych, produced some scintillating tennis, both in attack and defence, to knock the world No. 6 out of the ATP World Tour Finals.

The result means Murray's wish to face the world No. 1 in one of Saturday's semi-finals has come true - though on this form, Nadal may prove too strong for the Brit.

In a repeat of this year's Wimbledon final, Berdych and Nadal put on a cracking spectacle. The opening exchanges were evenly contested, with both players unloading powerful forehands from the baseline. Nadal was typically bullish, moving the taller Berdych to all areas of the court but the Czech showed his dexterity to fire groundstrokes back with interest. The nerveless Berdych threatened to grab the early momentum when he earned himself two break points in Nadal's opening service game.

Unfortunately for Berdych, the player on the other side of the net does not offer too many gimmes and he defended with gusto to draw level at 1-1. The match continued to ebb and flow, with Berdych showing his resilience to deny the advancing Nadal in the fourth game. From 15-40 down, he forced some uncharacteristic errors from the nine-time grand slam champion to hold.

The turning point in the match came with Nadal trailing 5-6. The umpire called 'out' after Nadal raised his arm to challenge Berdych's forehand. Berdych then challenged the umpire's decision, with Hawkeye finding the shot had gone in. Nadal remonstrated with the umpire after the point was awarded to Berdych instead of being replayed and, subsequently, a pumped up Nadal found extra gears to storm through the first set via a tiebreak.

There was still life in Berdych at the start of the second stanza, the Czech almost broke immediately. But, true to form, Nadal fought back from 0-30 to pinch it and further frustrate his opponent.

Nadal, perhaps sensing his rival was a little deflated, refused to yield and almost broke Berdych at the start of the second. Berdych, however, dug deep and some brave serving helped him earn a critical hold.

The floodgates soon opened, however, as a tiring Berdych began to make more and more errors. Two breaks of serve were enough to break his resistance and send Nadal through to the last four of a competition he has never won.

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