ATP MASTERS MADRID: Will Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray clash in the semifinals?

Clay-court season has taken its swing and tennis fans have the chance to enjoy this weeks Masters 1000 event which is held in Spanish capital city, Madrid. Throughout the first couple of days as expected some good matches could have been seen on courts of Caja Magica and mens part of the tournament has come down to last eight players.

Andy Murray (GBR) [2]  vs Tomas Berdych (CZE) [8] Match that opens the day when it comes to men’s singles competition is the duel between two top-10 players, Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych. For both players Madrid is their second clay tournament of the season and after ‘warming up’ in Monte Carlo, the question is on how they will perform on faster conditions which are the case at Caja Magica. The Scot was given some hard time immediately during his opening match against veteran Radek Stepanek, but eventually he managed to pull off a 3-sets win over Czechman and his performance in Round-16 against tricky Gilles Simon where he lost six games on his route to victory seemed to be much less stressful than the previous one. After a surprising second-round lost at Rolex Masters which came against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, best ranked player from Czech Republic Berdych seems to be much more comportable in Spanish capital city as he made quarter-final stage with two straight sets victories over Uzbekistani Denis Istomin and proven fighter David Ferrer. Murray who is yet to win a title this season seems to be more reliable player than Berdych, as he can return a lot of balls with his return ability, mix the play well and take advantage of playing on clay-court to slow game down, if needed, which should be plus for him. On the other side, eight-seeded Czech needs his serve to be on point, to try to go for his shots, to be agressive, but smart in the same time, and if 30-year-old Berdych can make this happen, everything is possible. The Briton who has 7-6 lead in head-to-head record on his side should be favourite to take this one, but surely player of Berdych caliber can’t be dismissed that easily.Kei Nishikori (JPN) [6] vs Nick Kyrgios (AUS)  After a month and couple of days, we will again be able to see Kei Nishikori and Nick Kyrgios go head-to-head. After American hard-court campaign in Indian Wells and Miami, the Japanese Nishikori opted to skip seasons …

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