By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, May 6, 2016
Reigning champion Andy Murray deconstructed Tomas Berdych and will face Rafael Nadal in the Madrid Open semifinals that's a a rematch of the 2015 final.
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open
When Andy Murray isn't preoccupied problem-solving inside the Madrid court this week, he's spent time studying the action from his computer screen.
The reigning Madrid Open champion tuned up for today's 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal thrashing of Tomas Berdych by watching video of Berdych's matches this week looking for patterns of play from the eighth-seeded Czech.
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Video sleuthing helped Murray crack a confounding clay-court case.
Winless in three prior clay-court meetings with Berdych, including a 7-6 (3), 6-4 setback in the 2013 Madrid quarterfinals, Murray beat his nemesis for the first time on clay.
"I just got asked on the TV there if I'll watch the matches that I played on clay against Berdych in the past," Murray said. "I said, No, I watched the matches that he's been playing this week to see what he's doing this week. Players change a lot in three years. They don't stay the same. (I) watched some of his matches from here and try and learn some things."
Murray will be back online to prepare for his semifinal showdown with Rafael Nadal in a rematch of the 2015 final, which he won 6-3, 6-2.
Roaring through a seven-game charge to open his quarterfinal, Nadal lost his lead after the roof was closed but regained control subduing sometime practice partner Joao Sousa, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, in two hours, five minutes.
It was the first time Nadal has dropped a set since the Monte Carlo final last month when he defeated Gael Monfils, 7-5, 5-7, 6-0, for his 28th Masters championship.
Murray says Nadal is stronger now than he was when he was plagued by short backhands and diminished confidence in the 2015 final. Nadal showed it rallying past Murray, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the Monte Carlo semifinals last month.
"I think he's definitely playing better for sure," Murray said of Nadal. "I also think I'm playing better now than I was at this time last year. You have to keep improving. There are things in my game that are much better just now than at this stage last year."
Nadal has beaten Murray in eight of their nine clay-court clashes and owns a 17-6 advantage in their head-to-head series.
"You have to learn in every match you play against the best players. If you don't, it's kind of pointless really going on the court. When you get to semis or finals of slams you want to go on the court with a very clear game plan and sort of understanding of things that work against him. (I) need to learn from the match I played against him, and hopefully put in a good performance again tomorrow."
The serve and first strike will be vital for Murray.
The world No. 2 stretched Berdych with the slider serve: Murray won 22 of 24 points played on his first serve (91 percent), 14 of 20 points played on his second serve (70 percent) and did not face a break point beating Berdych for the fourth time in a row.
Murray has taken six straight sets from Berdych, blunting the Czech's power and moving him with angles.
"You have to make adjustments every time you play. If you play the same way against people all the time they know what to expect," Murray said. "Obviously after the last few matches we played I'm sure they would've looked at those matches and seen things that I was doing. I also know what I was doing in those matches too, so I made some quite big adjustments that obviously helped.
"On a clay court it's different obviously to playing on the hard courts. You have to use a little bit more variety. When you're defending, you need to give yourself time to get back into position. If you just hit the ball big, that doesn't work on the clay all of the time. You need to be a little bit more patient, a little bit smarter when you're defending, and tried to do that today."
The higher altitude of Madrid elicits a livelier bounce than Monte Carlo, whose scenic perch on the Mediterranean sometimes comes with swirling conditions.
The forecast calls for periods of rain on Saturday. If the roof is closed for Saturday's semifinal, calmer conditions could help the Scot, who does not play with as much spin as the nine time Roland Garros champion. Murray will have to use his variety and backhand down the line against Nadal.
Sousa enjoyed some second-set success against Nadal stepping closer to the line and hammering his inside-out forehand to the left-hander's forehand before forcing Nadal to defend his backhand wing on the run. Murray will be back to the video today looking for clues.
"I'll look at the matches I've played against (Nadal). Sometimes it's more relevant watching matches from the week," Murray said.