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Czech mate: Berdych thumps Nadal at Open

World No.3 Rafael Nadal has been bundled out of the Australian Open by Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych.

Nadal looked a shadow of the man who has won 14 grand slam singles titles, seemingly fighting a hamstring problem, and he was put to the sword by Berdych in a brutally one-sided match.

Berdych sealed the win on his fourth match point when Nadal netted a forehand, wrapping up the match 6-2 6-0 7-6 (7-5) in just two hours, 13 minutes.

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It was just the fourth time in 23 meetings that Berdych had beaten Nadal, with his last victory over the Spaniard coming back in 2006 at the Madrid Masters, a run stretching 17 consecutive matches.

Nadal came into the tournament claiming he wasn’t a serious contender after playing just eight matches since Wimbledon due to back and wrist injuries.

The underdone former world No.1 also underwent surgery for appendicitis in October.

He dodged a bullet in the third round against lowly-ranked American qualifier Tim Smyzcek but appeared to be working his way into the championship after winning his next two matches in straight sets.

However Berdych brutally exposed Nadal’s lack of match toughness, striking 46 winners to 24 on Rod Laver Arena.

The win means Berdych joins Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as only the second man to claim the grand slam scalps of Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

For the Czech, who made the Wimbledon in final in 2010 before losing to Nadal, the quarter-final win – and the dominance with which it was achieved – was one of the best moments of his career.

At 29, he has been a feature of the top 10 for a number of years without breaking through for a major title.

Awaiting Berdych in the semis will be the winner of Tuesday night’s match between Scottish sixth seed Andy Murray and rising Australian star Nick Kyrgios.

– with AAP

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