Intro:

Seventh seed Tomas Berdych ousted Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday (27th January), with the Czech player's 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (5) success ending a 17-match losing streak against his Spanish opponent.

Script:

Third seeded Rafael Nadal took on seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych in the quater finals of the Australian Open.

14-time Grand Slam singles champion Nadal, said before the tournament began that his lack of match fitness due to injuries and illness in the last half of 2014 made him unlikely to win more than a few rounds at Melbourne Park.

And he certainly wasn't at his fluid best in this match.

The Spaniard lost the opening set 6-2, and it was downhill from there.

He didn't even register a game in the second, as Tomas Berdych took full advantage.

Nadal admitted after the match that he had a very bad game. It was bad luck for this fan; who couldn't have picked a worse match to see Nadal; travelling from South Africa

Berdych could sense how close he was to a semi final but Nadal saved two match points in the 12th game of the final set, sending it to a tie-break.

Berdych led 5-2 and finally ended the encounter on his fourth match point when Nadal netted a return of serve.

An 18th successive defeat of Berdych by the Spaniard would have set a new record for men's tennis, but the Czech player took the straight sets victory.