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By Chris Oddo | Friday, May 8, 2015

 
Tomas Berdych, Madrid Open

Tomas Berdych saved a match point then slid by John Isner to reach his seventh semifinal of the season.

Photo Source: Mutua Madrid Open

Tomas Berdych’s fantastic, remarkably consistent 2015 continues. The hard-hitting, crop-topped Czech reached his seventh semifinal in eight events on Friday in Madrid, finagling his way past rocket-serving John Isner, 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(1).

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The victory was Berdych’s fifth straight against Isner, but the Czech only escaped narrowly as Isner held a match point at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker before knocking a return long.

Isner would save a set point moments later, but after a crosscourt forehand volley gave Berdych a second, he capitalized to force the decider.

Neither player earned a break point in the decider, and Berdych ran away with the tiebreaker, racing out to a 5-0 lead thanks to three mini-breaks which all came as a result of Isner errors forehand errors (one was a volley).

Berdych becomes the second ATP player to reach the 30-win mark in 2015, and he will next face Rafael Nadal for a spot in the final.

Isner, who became the first American to reach the quarterfinals at a Masters 1000 on clay since 2009, held serve in all 60 service games in Madrid. He hammered 29 aces in defeat, and saved all four break points he faced.

Berdych, a finalist at the Monte-Carlo Masters in his last event, snapped a 17-match losing streak against Rafael Nadal at this year’s Australian Open en route to the semifinals. He has lost seven matches this season, but he has yet to be defeated by anybody outside the Top 10.

 

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