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Rafael Nadal loses at Australian Open

 
Rafael Nadal’s bid for a 15th major title falls short against an opponent who hadn’t beaten him since 2006. Nadal has played little since June because of a wrist injury and appendix surgery.
Rafael Nadal’s bid for a 15th major title falls short against an opponent who hadn’t beaten him since 2006. Nadal has played little since June because of a wrist injury and appendix surgery.
Published Jan. 28, 2015

MELBOURNE, Australia —Rafael Nadal kept telling anyone who would listen that his fitness levels wouldn't stand up to the rigors of a two-week Grand Slam tournament. Tomas Berdych proved him right.

Nadal, who had played only eight matches since June coming into the Australian Open because of a right wrist injury and appendix surgery in early November, was knocked out in the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) on Tuesday by Berdych — who had lost 17 straight matches to the Spaniard.

"It is obvious that I needed something more to be more competitive," said Nadal, a 14-time major winner. "As I said when I arrived here, the process always is not easy. When you have injuries, comebacks are difficult. But without being at my top level of tennis, I was able to be here in quarterfinals. Is not a bad result at all for me."

Berdych, while thankful to win, was reminded of a quote from the late Vitas Gerulaitis after beating Jimmy Connors for the first time in 16 matches: "Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row."

So no one, not even Nadal, could beat Berdych 18 times in a row?

"I've heard that one already," Berdych said, smiling.

In today's men's quarterfinals, top-seeded Novak Djokovic plays Milos Raonic and defending champion Stan Wawrinka takes on U.S. Open runnerup Kei Nishikori.

Berdych faces sixth-seeded Andy Murray in the semis after the Scot beat local hope Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Kyrgios, 19, came back from two sets down and saved a match point in the fourth round Sunday before beating Italian Andreas Seppi, the player who eliminated Roger Federer in the third round, but there was no such comeback on Tuesday.

"It was a tricky match," Murray said. "I tried to start as quick as possible because I know how dangerous Nick is. He's a huge hitter of the ball, so I tried to keep it out of his strike zone as much as possible. Thankfully it worked."

For the women, Serena Williams moved one step closer to her 19th Grand Slam title early today by beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-2 in 65 minutes to advance to the semifinals.

The No. 1-ranked Williams displayed her immense power, reeling off heavy returns that included 58 winners compared to 38 from Cibulkova, last year's runnerup.

Williams played on Rod Laver Arena right after her older sister, Venus, lost her quarterfinal to 19-year-old American Madison Keys. The loss dashed hopes for the first Williams sisters semifinal at a Grand Slam in years but sets up Thursday's all-American matchup of the young generation against the old guard.

Keys overcame a left thigh injury to beat Venus Williams 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Keys got treatment on her leg after dropping serve in the second set to give Williams a 4-1 lead. After the medical timeout, the 19-year-old broke Williams' serve twice to level the set at 4, but Williams then broke her next service game and served out the set.