Tomas Berdych picked a good time to end his lengthy losing streak to Rafael Nadal.
And Tuesday's first Australian Open quarterfinal was never close.
Berdych became the first player to stamp his ticket into the Aussie Open semifinals following a shocking 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) win over Nadal in the year's first Grand Slam event.
The third-seeded Nadal was able to fend off a pair of match points in his final service game of the third set, but was unable to overcome a 5-2 deficit in the tiebreaker. With the No. 7 seed Berdych up 6-5, Nadal sent the backhand of Berdych's serve into the net and the Czech officially put his straight-set triumph into the books.
Berdych had dropped 17 consecutive matches to last year's Aussie Open finalist Nadal, a streak that dated back to 2007.
The other quarterfinal will pit sixth-seeded Andy Murray and 19-year-old heavy Aussie crowd favorite Nick Kyrgios. Murray is a two-time major titlist who's lost in three Aussie Open finals.
Seven of the top-eight men's seeds reached the quarterfinals, with No. 2 Roger Federer being the lone exception.
[SportsNetwork.com]
