Rafael Nadal beaten by Tomas Berdych at Australian Open
- Published
Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open in 2009
Tomas Berdych ended a 17-match losing streak against Rafael Nadal as he outplayed the Spaniard to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
The Czech, seeded seventh, won 6-2 6-0 7-6 (7-5).
An 18th defeat in a row by Rafael Nadal would have set a new record for men's tennis.
Berdych will face Britain's Andy Murray in the semi-finals after the Scot saw off home favourite Nick Kyrgios.
Tomas Berdych's last victory over Rafael Nadal came in 2006
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Nadal was playing only his 12th match since Wimbledon last summer, and his first against a world top-10 player since he beat Novak Djokovic in the French Open final in June 2014.
"Without being at my top level of tennis I was able to be here in the quarter-finals," added Nadal.
"It's not a bad result at all for me arriving here the way I arrived: only with one match [in 2015], only with five matches in seven months."
- Published27 January 2015
