RICKY DIMON’S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR NADAL VS. BERDYCH AND MURRAY VS. KYRGIOS

Written by: Staff on 26th January 2015

RICKY DIMON'S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR NADAL VS. BERDYCH AND MURRAY VS. KYRGIOS

epa04582691 Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Kevin Anderson of South Africa in their fourth round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 19 January until 01 February 2015. Nadal won. EPA/Filip Singer |

The Australian Open men’s singles quarterfinal lineup is a blockbuster one, with seven of the top eight seeds still alive and the only impostor a local Aussie who has positively ignited the Melbourne crowd. The stretch run begins on Tuesday, with Rafael Nadal going up against familiar foe Tomas Berdych and Andy Murray hoping to stop the freight train that is Nick Kyrgios.

(7) Tomas Berdych vs. (3) Rafael Nadal

“Berdych is going to win this one. He has the prototypical game that should be a nightmare for Nadal: 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, big serve, flat hitting, and a two-handed backhand. The Czech is also on fire right now. He finished runner-up in a strong Doha field and has not yet dropped a set at the Aussie Open. Only three of his 12 sets have gone to a tiebreaker, he lost only four total points in those tiebreakers, and seven sets have been no closer than 6-3.”

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in action against Bernard Tomic of Australia in their fourth round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/Made Nagi

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Kevin Anderson of South Africa in their fourth round match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/Barbara Walton

Blah, blah, blah…. That’s what we are hearing a lot of right now, but what does any of it mean when the head-to-head series is so lopsided? Berdych is 0-17 in his last 17 matches against Nadal and 1-16 in his last 17 sets against the Spaniard. And he has been in ridiculous form heading into matches vs. Nadal plenty of times before, too. The best among a plethora of examples is Wimbledon in 2010, when Berdych comfortably disposed of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer then promptly lost to Nadal in straights in the final. To make matters worse, Nadal has been dominant in two matches since his second-round scare against Tim Smyczek.

Pick: Nadal in 3

(6) Andy Murray vs. Nick Kyrgios

Murray and Kyrgios have no such extensive head-to-head history, of course, since the 19-year-old Aussie is really in just his second season on tour. In their only previous encounter, Kyrgios was still in a twilight zone after Wimbledon and got clobbered by Murray 6-2, 6-2 in Toronto.

Andy Murray of Britian serves against Joao Sousa of Portugal during their third round match of the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2015. The Australian Open tennis tournament runs from 19 January until 01 February 2015. EPA/DAVID CROSLING AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Nick Kyrgios of Australia reacts during his third round match against Malek Jaziri of Tunisia at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2015. EPA/LUKAS COCH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

It won’t be so lopsided this time around with the youngster in outstanding form and enjoying circus-like crowd support. But Kyrgios has been tested physically throughout this tournament and mentally he has had plenty to think about (minor controversy over his on-court antics, for example). His awesome run this fortnight has been predicated on winning free points in the most important moments. He won’t win many of those against the Scot. No matter what, though, the atmosphere in Rod Laver Arena is going to be epic.

Pick: Murray in 3

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 2015 Australian Open, Andy Murray, Atp, AusOpen, Melbourne, Nick Kyrgios, Rafa, Ricky Dimon, Tennis, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

January 26, 2015 at 1:18 pm

-@Dimonator’s PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR @RafaelNadal VS. @tomasberdych AND @andy_murray VS. @NickKyrgios http://t.co/qsfe09bay2 #AusOpen #AO15
Dimonator says:

January 26, 2015 at 1:26 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator’s PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR @RafaelNadal VS. @tomasberdych AND @andy_murray VS. @NickKyrgios http://t.co/qsfe09ba…