Its 3 all between those 2 in their H2H as it stands. However 3/0 for Berdych on hard court and he is playing pretty well at the moment. Though I did not see either of the last 2 Blake/Nadal Match I do believe that Blake lost them both more than Nadal won them. It seems this is what Blake suggests in his interviews. Nonetheless, knowing how much of a fighter Nadal is, it is clear he can raise doubt in the opponent mind during a 3 setter and take the edge of them. However I do think that Berdych on a good day should win. Not going to be easy for sure but my money would be on him.

certainly interesting - am i right in thinking that the two of them don't like each other very much either??? :unsure:

Perspicacious Dinky! ;)

Personality and game wise they are probably at the extremes of the spectrum. 2 smart guys nonetheless and am sure they have patched up since Madrid.

am sure they're bestest buddies :P tbh i can't think that i've ever seen Berdych play - except for at Wimbledon last year against Nadal which was, well, not his finest hour. The thing is Berdych always seems fairly inconsistent - when he's on he can be brilliant, but when he's not it's a first round loss in straight sets. Nadal is always more consistent, but Berdy does seem to have turned up to this tournament so it could be interesting. I'd like to see Nadal win,. but i wouldn't take any bets on it.

To be honest Tenez, Rafa easily deserved his win against Blake last night. I'd say it was more of a case of Rafa winning it than Blake losing it. But everyone will have their opinion.

In this case though I see Berdych winning. I think on hard court he will be a little too tough for Rafa.

Berdych in 2. If it goes to 3 Rafa may have an outside chance.

Yes clearly a question of which side you are on. I am quite lazy when I play and watch tennis for the shots more that the fighting skills though both are somehow related. In the last 5 matches between those 2, Blake has demonstarted he has the (tennis) game to beat Nadal on the 5 occasions but certainly hasn't got Rafa's spirit and therefore lost the last 2. Blake says it himself. I was mentally beaten. We may attribute Blake's mental loss as much to Nadal as to Blake (famous for not being his forte), this i swhy in my view Blake lost it more than the other way around. :shrug:

Berdych has been the form player this tournament, dropping only 19 games in 4 matches, That's basically winning each match 6-3 6-2..

He is also a good match up for Rafa, his flat hitting is something that troubles Nadal. In the end I reckon it will come down to whether Berdbrain holds it together mentally, I mean a gust of wind puts him off and its GSM Rafa :rolleyes:


Berdy in 2 tight set OR Rafa to win a tight second set and run away with it in the third.

Berdych has surpised me becuase he seems to be on fire this time. His problem seems to be that he cruises to the later stages then fizzles out, maybe it's confidence or he's just not as tough as his latter stage opponents. :shrug: But anyway he needs to make that jump now if he's going to become a serious threat at the business end of tournies.

I did watch a little of his match last night, he seemed to play very well indeed. I'd make him favorouite (knowing what I know of Nadal on hard) play wise - but Nadal is favourite mentality wise so it's very hard to decide, especially as Nadal seems to have played well this week. I'd like to see Thomas break through here though and am going to go with him. :)

Agree with both of you. What is important for Berdych is not to fall into long rallies. He does not move well and loses his edge when tired. So as long as he makes the opponent run instead of him, he has a chance.....otherwise...gone!

By the looks of it though, Nadal seems to be back to some form again with spring coming. The clay season is going to be very interesting if he can retrieve his footwork. I much doubted he would a couple of weeks ago but I am now much less certain. I certainly woudl like a Fed v Nadal final here to set the tone of the very exciting clay season.

Hey Tenez :D Yeah Berdych is a big guy and he can't match Nadal in speed and movement. Although Berdych looked to be moving pretty well last night Iin fact I enjoyed his movements but best not go into that here :lol:) but he was keeping the points much shorter than Nadal will like to have them.

Actually for the final I don't know - I suppose Nadal v Fed shows both are back on form in time for the season hotting up, but I quite fancy seeing Berdych take on Fed, or even Roddick. Or even Nadal v Roddick, I think there is potential for a good final whoever gets there, with Fed not being at his best making it more interesting and unpredictable. I have often criticised Roddick's limited game, but he has got the fire in his belly again and I enjoy watching him in that frame of mind. :) Hopefully there will be a close fought high quality final, and shoudl eb provided no one is injure dor worn out by then.

The thing about Berdych is that although he has an effective game when its on he has very ugly strokes. He has no plan B. If his serve isn't working it usually means his groundies are struggling as well. Its the reason why he has been in awful form so far this year-he needs his game to be clicking perfectly to be competitive.m

Indeed all combinations could be interesting from those 4. I still think nber 1 v nber 2 carries something special and they are going to be rarer between those 2 by the look of it so we may enjoy them while they are on. But I woudl not be disappointed, nor surprised if Berdych were to win. I would certainly be a bit more should Roddick get through. Interesting to see whether Fish gave Roddick some tips on beating Roger.

:lmaao: didn't think about that - bet Roddick was thrilled when Fish did that :P

Well normally out my bet straight on Federer here, BUT with Fed showing signs of an achilles heel this year, and Roddick showing more confidence, you never know. If Roddick serves well, then it's gonna be very close. I can't really guage it as I have not seen Fed play this week. :shrug: Fish may well have given tips, but I don't think that will make much difference really as if Roger turns up in fine form then Roddick will lose. What Fish's win will do though is spur Roddick on, and I'm sure pride will come into this match - as in Fish is ranked lower than Roddick and beat Fed.

Not even slightly tempted? ;) I think Berdych at 2.48 is the best bet I've seen this season. £100 on, pretty much guaranteed profit of £148.

Very tempting I must say Wise. But I woudl have put that money on Blake yesterday and very glad I did not. :pray:

I stopped betting 2 years ago.....with a good profit so I don't want to spoil it now!

I rarely bet, and when I do, generally only put it on what I perceive as the dead certs - obviously only if they're good value. I made quite a bit out of Nalby at the end of last year, but this year my biggest regret was not going for Tsonga to beat Rafa in Melbourne - ridiculously good odds.

Anyway, the reasons Berdych will win are because he's been on fire this week, whereas Rafa, no matter how improved one might think, will always lose to an on-form hitter like Berdy on a hard court. The matchup's out of his hands, so barring a Berdych choke, this one's easy, and Berdych has obviously beaten Nadal on hard before, plus he's won an MS in Paris so it appears that when confident, his nerves don't suffer too badly. Blake on the other hand was suffering from something all week and never looked as impressive as Berdych has. He's also notoriously weak under pressure and Nadal beating him at IW probably sowed seeds of doubt into his mind. Berdych won't have such doubts - easy money.

Agree with this very much except that Berdych never was and never will be a safe bet....whoever he plays.

One of my best bet was £5 on Davydenko to win Paris in 2006 at 67/1 when bookmakers were stil unsure of Federer and rafa's partcipation. I also had a lot of money on Bagdhatis to go from Roddick to the AO final and finally from Nalby to win Fed in the Masters Final (that was aclose one). I am glad I left with a nicely positively but mainly due to cheer luck as knowledge can lead you to disaster. It's wasn't very healthy and difficult to keep under control.

No, you're right, one can never truly rely on Berdych... that said, he's beaten Nadal before when he's not even looked in good form, so I'm still very confident - have even placed an additional £50 on him to win in straight sets at 4.55. That said, I've heard it's windy in Miami tonight which will favour Nadal. :angry:

You sound like the opposite kind of better to me... I tend to put big stakes on the one-off matchups as opposed to small stakes on the longer shots. It's easier for the heart - you can't have enjoyed all Baggy's five setters too much en route to that final! The advantage of your betting is that you can make 5 wrong bets like that and still make a tidy profit, whereas I have to get most of mine right if I'm gonna get anywhere.

You say that but I had much bigger amounts (multiple 100s) as well placed. But as you say, they are tough on the nerves. Another good bet of mine was 100 on Alonso to win the WC before the last race when Shumi was largely favourite and Alonso at 8/1. That was actually my last aware bet. "thank you very much"!

I realised month later by logging in again on my betting site that I had £150 waiting for me as I completely forgot I had put long ago a fiver on Hingis to win the WC. Again "thank you very much"!

...and going back to the Nadal Berdych match.....I was in sw19 center court when Nadal played Berdych on a windy day this year. Berdych did not even try!