Madrid's Caja Magica ("Magic Box") arena is a popular tourist destination, and today Tomas Berdych gave Fernando Verdasco a guided tour of the court before making the hometown hero disappear. Sharper in every aspect of the game, Berdych blew Verdasco away, 6-1, 6-2, in a 66-minute thrashing to storm into his second straight Masters semifinal.
It was a milestone moment for the sixth-seeded Czech, who earned his 100th career Masters victory. While the world's top two players have been vocal in criticizing the slick blue clay court, Berdych has maintained his balance by blasting first strikes to rock opponents off balance. He has not surrendered serve in the tournament, permitting just 12 games in three victories. Berdych hits a flatter ball than Verdasco, maintained better depth on his drives, and defended his second serve much more vigorously: He won 80 percent of his second-serve points, while Verdasco won just 31 percent.
The euphoria of Verdasco's rousing rally from a 2-5 third-set deficit to beat Rafael Nadal for the first time had long subsided as he tried to work the width of the court using his lefty topspin forehand to drag the Czech wide. But the world No. 19 was not nearly accurate enough—he littered 24 errors compared to his opponent's 11—and the 6'5" Berdych hammered the high ball to his two-hander, effectively nullifying Verdasco's best weapon. Lashing line shot returns, Berdych rattled the server's Dunlop racquet to gain triple break point and broke at love for a 3-1 first-set lead. Rushed for response time, a jittery Verdasco double faulted to drop serve and fall into a 1-5 hole, as Berdych won 20 of the final 24 points to take the opening set in 29 minutes.
Tennis, even at the elite level, can be a humbling exercise because it forces you to face your limitations while exposing them to the rest of the world. Some of Verdasco's impediments are self imposed: He has more depth to his game than he shows, but doesn't always believe enough in his shots, particularly the serve, to use them, which is one reason why he's 16-61 lifetime against Top 10 opponents.
This is also a comfortable match-up for Berdych because he takes the ball a bit earlier than Verdasco, and can create offensive opportunities in two-shot combinations. Once he got Verdasco on the run, Berdych refused to let the Spaniard recover. Berdych won seven straight games to blow open the match. The crowd, which embraced Verdasco in appreciative applause as he bathed in the blue clay yesterday, tried to rouse him with rhythmic clapping, but Berdych pressed the mute button, winning 16 of 20 points played on his serve in the second set.
A battle of the big men is on tap for Saturday as Berdych takes on 10th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro. The 6'6" Argentine has won three of their four meetings, including a routine win in Madrid three years ago, their lone clay-court clash.