Australian Open 2012 live stream

Whenever Rafael Nadal takes to the court, a grinding, meticulous match is to be expected.

Tuesday night was just that and much, much more as the No.2 seed entered into a dogfight with world No.7 Tomas Berdych in a men’s quarterfinal match that stretched into Wednesday morning. It was one of the best matches of the tournament as the Spaniard wore down the Czech in four sets, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-3.

The four-hour, 16-minute affair produced a tremendous level of tennis in front of an electric Rod Laver Arena crowd, Nadal and Berdych pushing one another around the baseline with whipping forehands and decisive shot-making. It was the 2009 champion who would eventually come through after saving a set point that would have seen him fall down two sets to none.

"It's true is difficult against a player like him, because you don't have chances on return,” Nadal explained. “He hit the ball very, very hard and very flat. Very difficult to find the rhythm.”

With the win, Nadal sets up a blockbuster semifinal with No.3 Roger Federer. The last time the two men faced off in a major before the final was the 2005 French Open, a match that Nadal won. He owns a 17-9 career record against the Swiss.

“We played a lot of matches between each other and all ones, in very important moments for our careers and very high moments,” Nadal said of his rivalry with Federer. “So the match is special. I don't know how many we played, but the most were finals or a few semifinals in a Masters Cup. But for everything, for what represents the match, all the matches against him are special.”

Before Nadal could worry about Federer in the semifinals, Berdych gave him plenty to concern himself with on Tuesday. The 6ft 5ins Czech native blasted forehands to the corners of the court early on, saving two break points in the fourth game of the match. It was Berdych who would next get break-point opportunities in the twelfth game of the match, earning three set points when Nadal went down love-40 on his serve.

But Nadal wouldn’t let Berdych take the set like that. After saving a first set point he played one of the best points of the match, scurrying around court and running down a short forehand ball that he flicked for a crosscourt winner, the crowd exploding in approval. He’d save a third and fourth set point in the game still, winning the game and sending the first set to a tie-break.

Nadal raced to a 5-3 lead and looked as though he might have come through a first-set test, but he dropped three straight points, including a controversial call where he challenged too late on a ball that later was confirmed to be out on the baseline. Because of his tardiness on the challenge, Berdych earned a fifth set point at 6-5 and capitalized with an ace, taking the breaker 7-5.

“I was nervous because he was playing well,” Nadal said of the first two sets. “;I thought that I didn't put enough balls in when I was returning … I wasn't able to hit the ball [deep]. My movements weren't enough strong, enough fast.”

Nadal held a 10-3 career record against Berdych, including winning their last nine matches. The two met in the final at Wimbledon in 2010, an affair that Nadal won in straight sets.

This meeting would obviously not be in straights as Nadal struggled to keep himself in the match at the start of the second set. He saved break points in the first game and then broke for a 3-1 lead in the fourth game, seemingly finding his footing in this match. But after taking a 5-2 lead, Rafa would let Berdych back into the match, the Czech tapping two forehand volley winners to get the break back. From there, the two would tussle it out for the remainder of the set, setting up a second straight tie breaker.

While most stats boded well for Nadal coming into the match, his tie-break record for 2012 was not one of them. Entering into the second set breaker he hadn’t won one this year while Berdych was a pristine 7-0, including his first-set win.

The tie-break was a miniature version of the set itself, Nadal racing out to a 4-1 lead before Berdych came roaring back. The Spaniard found himself down a set point to fall behind two sets to love, but he saved it at 5-6 and then ran off the next two points thanks to Berdych pushing two groundstrokes just beyond the baseline. An elated Nadal, who lost in this round a year ago, let out a cry of celebration to his player’s box as he evened the match at one set a piece.

While many may have expected Berdych to fade away, the Czech, spurred on by a group of spirited fans known as “Berdych’s Army,” broke Nadal for a 2-0 lead. But Nadal wouldn’t be knocked down for long: he broke back immediately by ripping a passing shot out of Berdych’s reach. It was then that Nadal began to take full flight in the match, his forehand finding more sting through the court as Berdych began to spray balls more often and find himself on the defensive.

Nadal would break again in what proved to be an all-important fifth game of the set and then ran it out, knocking down an overhead smash and fist pumping his accomplishment. He won the fourth set going away, breaking in the opening game and fending off break points with two fantastic forehands. He won the match just after midnight Wednesday morning, hitting 55 winners en route.

Though Federer has an overall losing record against Nadal, he takes the confidence into their semifinal knowing that he beat the 25-year-old the last time the two met: Federer dismissed Nadal 6-3, 6-0 at the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.

“[Federer]'s doing well and he's playing fantastic,” Nadal said. “And he had a fantastic end of the season last year. So he's coming with confidence. It will be a very, very difficult match for me, and I will try.”
Of that match, Nadal hopes it was a thing of the past.

“Hopefully will never repeat,” he said plainly.

He and Federer will meet on Thursday in the first of two men’s semifinals.