During his run to the Mutua Madrid semifinals this week, Rafael Nadal has reached an obscure yet impressive milestone. Unfortunately for Tomas Berdych, his own personal futility against Nadal has played a significant role in it.
Nadal's 17th consecutive victory over Tomas Berdych on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open ties the Spaniard for the longest winning streak against another player in ATP history.
Below is the list of the top nine streaks of all-time, via @TennisStatistic:
Notably left off the list is Bjorn Borg, who defeated Vitas Gerulaitus 16 times in a row (with one walkover in between), and Jimmy Connors, who defeated Gerulaitus 15 times in a row (with one walkover in between).
Remarkably, Berdych opened his career by winning three of his first four matches against Nadal. But since 2007, the Czech has lost 17 in a row, winning only three of 39 sets.