The last time Tomas Berdych beat Rafael Nadal there were no iphones, Twitter and definitely no selfies, all the rage these days at the Australian Open.
It's been almost 10 years - back in 2006 - that the Czech last tasted success against Nadal, winning only three of their 21 matches with the Spaniard claiming the past 17 in succession.
Reaching his eighth consecutive Open quarter-final, Berdych who brushed aside local hope Bernard Tomich last round - says he's feeling good about his chances this time against the world No.3.
"It's been a great, great run so far," said the seventh seed, who is yet to drop a set.
"I'm feeling strong both like physically, mentally but I'm going to have to add something extra again."
The 29-year-old is hoping the recruitment of new coach Dani Vallverdu, who formerly worked with Andy Murray, can add some extra insight on tackling Nadal.
"He is very good on that," Berdych said.
"He knows how to put up the plan before the match and how to prepare the player.
"That's the positive what I was looking for and what I needed."
Nadal insists his stunning record will count for nothing when they clash on Tuesday.
He recalled their 2012 quarter-final encounter at Melbourne Park when Berdych could have gone up two sets to love but for a missed volley.
"It doesn't matter what happened in the past, it's a different story this time," Nadal said.
"He's a great player. I have success against him, but I have the chances to lose against him."
After almost bowing out in the second round battling cramps and dizziness, Nadal's form has improved with each match and he looked ominous in his straight-sets win over South African Kevin Anderson last round.
He said he was happy with his progress.
"It's the first day I've felt that I was playing at the level that I wanted to play," Nadal said.
HOW RAFAEL NADAL AND TOMAS BERDYCH MATCH UP FOR THEIR AUSTRALIAN OPEN QUARTER-FINAL CLASH AT MELBOURNE PARK ON TUESDAY:
3-RAFAEL NADAL (ESP) leads 7-TOMAS BERDYCH (CZE) 18-3
Grand slam meetings: Nadal leads 3-0
2012 Australian Open, hard, Q, Nadal 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 6-3
2010 Wimbledon, grass, F, Nadal 6-3 7-5 6-4
2007 Wimbledon, grass, Q, Nadal 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-2
RAFAEL NADAL
Age: 28
Ranking: 3
Career-high ranking: 1 (2008)
Plays: left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $US71,421,511 ($A90.84 million)
Career titles: 64
Grand slam titles: 14
Australian Open win-loss record: 45-8
Best Australian Open performance: champion 2009
TOMAS BERDYCH
Age: 29
Ranking: 7
Career-high ranking: 5 (2013)
Plays: right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $US20,152,143 ($A25.63 million)
Career titles: 10
Grand slam titles: 0
Australian Open win-loss record: 33-11
Best Australian Open performance: semi-finalist 2014
Share
