Rafael Nadal meets Tomas Berdych in
the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Saturday. Nadal beat
Roger Federer and Berdych beat Kevin Anderson, both in straight sets in the quarter-finals.
Berdych fares 3-12 against Nadal and has lost eleven straight times in the last
seven years. Nadal is coming back after a long layoff due to injuries and is
playing his first hard court tournament in almost a year.
Berdych has had some success
against Federer, perhaps due to the fact that he can produce that type of
aggression on his day which overtakes Federer’s aggressive play and induces him
into errors. But his successes have not come that much against players like
Nadal or Novak Djokovic who have supreme defenses beside controlled aggression.
Berdych serves well, but then the
first percentage should go much beyond the 53% against Anderson. He has the
height to counter the extra bounce on Nadal’s top spin, but has not been able
to do it effectively. Nadal has better mobility, better forehand and better
back hand than Berdych. Berdych has better serve and better capacity to abandon
caution for aggression. But can he play like Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon 2012?
Nadal is playing his usual style
and that can fetch the usual result in the semi-finals. His back hand worked
better than usual against Federer in the quarter-finals. His angles will make
Berdych run from side to side which is not Berdych’s forte. He also is not
known for a great running shot. If however, he is able to hit a winner before
the rally becomes long, he has a chance of blunting Nadal’s strong point. A few
players take advantage of extra spun short balls from Nadal with extra-ordinary
athleticism, but Berdych has not done it in the past given his 6’5” frame.
History is loaded against Berdych
in this semi-final encounter and he will have to play a historical match to
overcome Nadal on Saturday.
