By Adrianna Outlaw | Thursday, May 7, 2015

 

Tomas Berdych beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and will face John Isner for a spot in the Madrid semifinals.

Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open

A pair of flat-hitting power players will face off in the Madrid quarterfinals.

John Isner hammered 20 aces and did not face a break point defeating Nick Kyrgios, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-4.

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The 18th-ranked Isner reached the first clay-court Masters quarterfinal of his career and is the first American to reach the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 clay-court tournament since Andy Roddick in Madrid 2009.

Isner set up a quarterfinal clash with Tomas Berdych.

Continuing his career-long torment of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Berdych beat the Frenchman 7-5, 6-2 in 89 minutes.

It was Berdych's sixth win in eight meetings with Tsonga. The Czech served just 46 percent, but surrendered only five points on his first serve and saved three of four break points in bursting into his sixth Madrid quarterfinal, including five in a row.

Kyrgios was coming off an electrying upset of Roger Federer. The 20-year-old Aussie saved two match points in a 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (12) victory over the top-seeded Swiss.

Showing stiff resistance again, Kyrgios saved a match point down 6-5 in the second-set tie break against Isner. The American did not fade going the distance.

The 30-year-old Isner broke into the 10th game to reach his first clay-court quarterfinal since Nice last May.

While Isner's emergence as a quarterfinalist is a surprise given former French Open champion Federer's presence in his section, Berdych has a history of deep runs in the high altitude of Madrid.

The sixth-seeded Czech reached the 2012 Madrid finals, falling to Federer, and will be playing for his fourth trip to the tournament semifinals.

The 6-foot-10 Isner vs. the 6-foot-5 Berdych figures to be a battle of first-strike tennis. Isner is the bigger server, Berdych the better mover. The American's forehand is more explosive, Berdych's backhand is more dangerous.

Berdych owns a 6-2 career edge, including four straight wins over the American. Surprisingly, he's broken Isner's serve at least three times in three of their last four matches. The Czech has prevailed in all three of their clay-court meetings, including a straight-sets win at Roland Garros last year.