NEWSPost India

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal completed Group A matches with a perfect 3-0 record on Friday after he defeated Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6(3), 6-1 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The Spaniard will next meet Andy Murray, the British favourite, in the semi-finals on Saturday. Murray finished Group B in second position behind four-time former champion Roger Federer.

“For me, [to] finish the season winning all the matches in the group, three victories against top eight players in probably the most difficult surface for me, is unbelievable now,” admitted Nadal. “[I’m] very happy to be in [the] semi-finals. Tomorrow [is] going to be a very difficult match against one of the best players of the world. I’m very happy how I am playing, how I improved during the tournament and for me today [it] was a very good match.”

Nadal hit four aces and 27 winners, committing just 13 unforced errors in a repeat of this year’s Wimbledon final. He won 20 more service points than Berdych, who made 32 unforced errors and hit six double faults.

In a high-quality first set, where both players squandered break point opportunities, Nadal was left incensed by an overrule at 5-6, 15/15 that went in Berdych’s favour. A Berdych backhand was called long, but the chair umpire overruled the decision. The Czech World No. 6 then challenged the decision and won the point using the RICOH Official Review.

Nadal showed visible frustration but managed to record his eighth straight win over Berdych and leave the 25 year old with no chance of making the last four at the season finale in London. The 24-year-old Nadal appeared to hit with extra power and fluency in the first set tie-break and won it in convincing fashion with a forehand winner down the line. Nadal broke serve in the fourth game of the second set after Berdych hit a poorly executed drop shot from the baseline that landed in the net. The nine-time Grand Slam championship winner then broke again for a 5-1 lead before serving out the match to 30.

“Every time you play [the] No. 1 player in the world, [it] is a great experience,” said Berdych. “I need to learn from the mistakes. That’s how I can be better for the future. It was one of my goals for this year to get here and I’m happy for that.” When asked whether Nadal could top his stellar season that included title successes at Roland Garros (d. Soderling), Wimbledon (d. Berdych), the US Open (d. Djokovic) and a clean sweep of the clay-court ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, he confessed, “[You] always can have a better season. You can win in every place.

“But for me, [it] is very difficult to imagine. In my case, is almost impossible.”