Drama, drama, drama. Rafael Nadal consolidated his place today at the top of Group A by defeating Tomas Berdych in straight sets and moving into the semifinals unbeaten. The first set saw some exciting tennis from both players as they went toe to toe, and for an hour nothing could separate them. Tomas finally made his move at 6-5* - holding and then stealing the first two points on Rafa’s serve… and then it happened.
It’s so typical that this is the exact time I decided to momentarily close the livestream window. As I put it back on, all I saw was Rafa yelling his head off at umpire Carlos Bernardes, and looking like he was about to drag Bernardes off his chair and start fighting him then and there. OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but it was probably the most animated and categorically pissed off Rafa has ever been on a tennis court. He clearly channeled all of that anger into his tennis as he took his game to the next level, recovering to take that game and then fighting his way to the set, smacking down forehands, backhands and serves alike.
By the second set Tomas had clearly lost heart and confidence, and it was just about finishing the job. And that’s what he did, closing out the match 7-6 6-1. This win means that he will definitely be meeting Andy Murray in the semis tomorrow - definitely looking forward to that.
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