By Chris Oddo | Friday, March 28, 2014

 

Lightning has struck the Sony Open in Miami a second time, as Tomas Berdych pulled out of Friday's semifinal with stomach illness.

Photo Source: Christopher Levy

A strange day just got stranger at the Sony Open in Miami, as Tomas Berdych announced that he'd have to pull out of his evening semifinal with Rafael Nadal due to gastroenteritis.

The day's second walkover sends top seed Nadal through to the final, where he will meet second seed Novak Djokovic for the 40th time. Djokovic advanced earlier in the day when Nishikori pulled out with a left groin strain.

>>>Nishikori Pulls out of Miami with Groin Injury | Hingis and Lisicki Reach Miami Doubles Final

“Came here. Tried to do as much as I could,” said Berdych, who said he started to feel ill in the morning and could barely get out of bed. “You know, see the doctors, receiving the IV, and basically not with good results that I can basically go and try.”

“It's an unlucky day for everyone,” Rafael Nadal told Brad Gilbert and Darren Cahill in an on-air interview with ESPN.

Tournament director Adam Barrett did his best to put a brave face on, telling media “I ran into Cliff Buchholz, who was the tournament director before me for many, many years. He looked at me and said, 'Adam, that's never happened before. I think you just set a record.' I said, 'Cliff, not a record I want to set.' ”

Barrett continued: “Also not publicity that I really want. I mean, we look forward, you know, to the good news, which is we do have the No. 1 and No. 2 players playing two days in a row. I don't know that that's ever happened or when it's happened here. I'm sure it hasn't happened a lot at any tournament, so we have good matchups lined up for the weekend.”

“You know, we will try to take care of all of our fans the best that we can. It's not an optimal situation. It's hard to get through a day like this. You do what you can, and you hope for the best. In this case, you know, we have had a lot of great things happen this week, a lot of great actions, a lot of great storylines. Sometimes the storylines, you know, take a turn.

“This time they took a turn both in the afternoon and evening sessions.”

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the top seeds and No. 1 and No. 2-ranked players in the world, are set to face off in a blockbuster final on Sunday.

Each, thanks to one of the strangest tennis (non-tennis) days in recent memory, will be well rested.