MELBOURNE, Australia -- Rafael Nadal continued his dominant streak over Roger Federer to reach the Australian Open final for the third time, beating the … Combined, Wawrinka and Berdych have won 13 titles, and one of them will be making a first-ever appearance in the Australian Open finals come Sunday.While we’ll have to wait to find out which one continues the surprising journey toward Slam glory, here is a look at what to expect when they take the court against one another on Thursday.Wawrinka and Berdych are anything but strangers on the competitive tennis court, having met While Wawrinka has gotten the better of those confrontations eight to five, the matches have tended to be tightly contested, promising great things to come from their Thursday semifinal tussle.In fact, the duo met a surprising four times last year, with Wawrinka winning the final three contests, including a four-set triumph in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.Berdych did manage to best the Swiss player in a four-set battle that helped deliver a Davis Cup victory to his native Czech Republic back in February. His ground strokes have been powerful, his serve is dialed in and the determination he showed in besting Djokovic should keep him focused and grounded against Berdych.In addition to that solid form, Wawrinka has been the beneficiary of some good fortune Down Under as well.
1 Rafael Nadal 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(6) at Rod Laver Arena.. The pair has met eight times on the hard courts, with Wawrinka winning six of them.There really is no way to overstate the importance of Wawrinka’s quarterfinal victory over Djokovic. Not only had the Serbian bounced him from the 2013 Australian Open, he got the better of him in another five-set battle in the semifinals of last year's U.S. Open.As evidenced by his quarterfinal victory, the Swiss native is definitely working with his A-game in Australia. 22nd January, 2014. The focus sharply turns to Thursday night's semi-final. He rebounded to close out the match 6-4 in the fourth to earn his first Australian Open semifinal.Like his upcoming opponent, Berdych has been solid in just about every facet of the game. Wawrinka defeated Djokovic in yet another five-set thriller on Tuesday, ending the Serbian’s three-year reign as Australian champion, and avenging his loss to him in last year’s round of 32 Down Under. By James Brady @JamesBradySBN Jan 22, 2014, 2:01pm EST A Set small text size A Set the default text size A Set large text size. Given that, if Berdych can wear down the No.
6:18 a.m. 2014 Australian Open TV coverage and schedule for Thursday's matches The semifinals are set to begin at the 2014 Australian Open.
The focus sharply turns to Thursday night's semi-final.The 2011 French Open champion is into her fourth grand slam final - and third at Melbourne Park after losing title matches to Kim Clijsters in 2011 and Victoria Azarenka last year, both in three sets. In that same event, the two played against one another in an epic Berdych also owns the only previous contest between the two at the Australian Open, defeating Wawrinka in four sets during the third round of the 2009 competition despite dropping the first set 6-4. Last updated on 21 January 2014 21 January 2014. Dominic Thiem made a significant breakthrough at the Australian Open on Wednesday night, upsetting World No. That concludes our rolling coverage of the 2014 Australian Open women's final.
His powerful ground strokes have been dominant from both sides and his serve has kept opponents off balance during the entire championship.It’s a form he’ll need to maintain if he hopes to push past Wawrinka; but given his consistency during the championship, there’s little reason to doubt another strong effort from Berdych.With less than 48 hours to move past the biggest victory of his career, Wawrinka will be challenged to get his focus squarely on Berdych after his five-set thriller against Djokovic.If he can do it, the Swiss player should be the favorite to win on Thursday.