Stanislas Wawrinka has beaten Tomas Berdych in three sets to reach the final of the Madrid Masters.
The Swiss number two came through 6-3 4-6 6-4 against the the world number six, and will face Rafael Nadal in tomorrow's final.
Neither player was able to really find their best tennis during the match, but it was Wawrinka who was more consistent in the first set.
A strong finish to the second set, and a break early in the third allowed Berdych to take command, but Wawrinka fought back to win four consecutive games and book his place in the final.
See how the action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Good Evening and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the Madrid Masters semi-final between the world number 15 Stanislas Wawrinka and the world number six Tomas Berdych.
As mentioned in the introduction, the winner of this match will be rewarded with a final against Rafael Nadal, who came through 6-0 6-4 against Pablo Andujar this afternoon. I expect this match will be a little closer.
These two have played each other ten times in their careers, with five wins each and it is actually the Swiss who has the upper hand on clay.
Wawrinka has also been in good form this year, taking Djokovic all the way back in January's Australian Open, before taking charge of his country's Davis Cup hopes when Roger Federer took a break from tennis. His overall record this year is 23-8, and a win tonight would see him move very close to the world's top ten.
Berdych on the other hand has failed to really push on after a breakthrough year in 2012. He has recorded big wins this year though, beating Andy Murray in the quarter-finals yesterday, and is always a dangerous opponent with his huge ground-strokes of either side.
Another thing which could play a part today is fitness. Berdych came through in straight sets against Murray yesterday, while Wawrinka needed three sets to overcome Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a late finish. Will the Swiss have recovered enough?
The Czech has also been getting better throughout this tournament, surviving a tough draw to beat Jerzy Janowicz, Kevin Anderson and of course, Andy Murray. I feel he will need to be at his very best to beat the in-form Wawrinka today.
Wawrinka has had to get past Gregor Dimitrov and Tsonga in his last two games, so he is not short of momentum either.
We've got two really good shot-makers in this match-up. Both men are strong of both the forehand and backhand, and I'm sure we can expect some exciting baseline battles. Here we go.
BREAK! Wawrinka comes out on top in one the early rallies as Berdych hits a short ball long. The Czech then hits a forehand into the net allowing his opponent to open up two break-point opportunities, the second of which is converted with a nice drop-volley.
Wawrinka consolidates the break with some well-placed serves, which his opponent can not return, before upping the ante with final ace.
Berdych finds a couple of first serves of his own, one of which Wawrinka hits wide, the other into the net. A powerful forehand behind the Swiss wraps up the game and Berdych is on the board.
Berdych returns a second serve long before Wawrinka slams a forehand into the corner to take command of the game. Berdych is again off target with his return and Wawrinka finishes with another forehand winner.
Berdych makes no mistake with a tricky overhead at 15-15, before coming out on top in a punishing baseline rally and sealing the game with an ace.
Wawrinka recovers from 0-30 down with an ace, before Berdych hits a forehand long. The Swiss then misses a forehand of his own, but saves break point with an angled drop-shot and a body serve.
Wawrinka hits consecutive backhands long, before hitting one into the net. Berdych gets back to within one game with a forehand onto the line which his opponent can't return.
The two players exchange unforced errors in the opening two points, before a double-fault from Wawrinka and a Berdych backhand opens up two break-point chances. The Swiss saves both with excellent backhands and escapes the game as his opponent makes two more errors.
BREAK and SET! A poor attempt at a drop-shot and an over-hit forehand allow Wawrinka into the game. He gets to break-point with a volleyed pass but a huge ace from Berdych makes it deuce. A poor backhand into the net and a double-fault on the second break-point give Wawrinka the set.
A powerful forehand onto the sideline beats Berdych, before an excellent backhand gives Wawrinka a 30-0 lead. The Swiss then misses the chance to pass Berdych at the net but wins the game with a powerful ace.
A fantastic baseline rally ends with Wawrinka hitting the ball into the net. Berdych then slams a short forehand into the corner and past his opponent, before hitting the net himself. The Czech wraps up the game though with some big serving.
Wawrinka lets Berdych back into the game with two poor backhands, one into the net and the other wide, but he edges ahead in the second set with two unreturned serves.
A good volley at the net is followed by a Wawrinka forehand which goes long, to give Berdych the advantage. The Czech then finds a big ace and an excellent dry volley to hold to love.
Wawrinka goes 30-0 up before two unforced errors let Berdych back into the game. A good body serve and an ace see the Swiss get out of trouble.
Another solid hold for Berdych as consecutive forehands go long from Wawrinka before the Czech finds an ace followed by a huge cross-court forehand.
A good serve is followed by an excellent forehand into the corner from Wawrinka, who then smashes a backhand into the same area. A good one-two with his serve and forehand beats Berdych and gives the Swiss a 4-3 lead in the set.
Berdych stretches to produce an excellent forehand pass, before two unforced errors from Wawrinka make it 40-0. A big forehand flies past Wawrinka to level the set up.
BREAK! Berdych edges ahead. Wawrinka comes out on top in an excellent rally with a forehand winner, before an unforced error and an unreturned serve gives him the chance to win the game. Berdych takes it to deuce and manages to carve out a break-point chance but fires his backhand wide. He gets another chance and makes no mistake this time.
SET! Wawrinka misses the chance to pass Berdych, who then smashes a backhand pass his opponent to bring up set-point. He takes it at the first time of asking as the Swiss fails to return a big cross-court forehand.
Berdych finds some form at just the right time. Neither player has played particularly well but the Czech is the one with the spring in his step as we enter the final set.
Berdych manages to get a big Wawrinka forehand back into play, before the Swiss misses wide. A couple of unforced errors each precede a big Wawrinka backhand to edge ahead.
Excellent game from Berdych as three first serves fail to make it back into play. A poor drop shot from Wawrinka hits the net and the Czech holds to love.
Wawrinka finds two big forehands and a couple of aces to put the pressure straight back onto Berdych.
A big serve and an unforced error from his opponent see Berdych recover from 15-30, before slamming a forehand past Wawrinka to level the match.
BREAK! Two over-hit backhands from Wawrinka give Berdych the advantage in the game, before an incredible rally ends with another backhand going inches wide from the Swiss. A final forehand goes wide to give Berdych the break.
Some big serving gets Berdych out of trouble when 15-30 down, and he consolidates the break.
Some very good tennis from Berdych has Wawrinka running to all corners of the court. The Swiss manages to save two break points and a body serve gives him the chance to escape the game, but there only looks like one winner at the moment.
BREAK! Berdych shows a nice touch at the net before a powerful serve-forehand combination beats Wawrinka. The Swiss then comes out on top in a marathon rally before a wide backhand from Berdych brings about break-point. Berdych saves it but Wawrinka carves out another chance and takes it when the Czech hits a forehand into the net.
What a turnaround as Wawrinka finds some first serves and powerful ground-strokes to hold serve relatively comfortably. The pressure is on Berdych now as he prepares to serve to stay in the match.
GAME, SET AND MATCH! Wawrinka 6-3 4-6 6-4 Berdych Berdych somehow hits a routine forehand long before another unforced error brings up match point for Wawrinka. A big serve saves the first, but on the second he fires a forehand wide and it is Wawrinka who progresses to the final.
Wawrinka will face Nadal in tomorrow's final after another three-set match. It looked as if Berdych was going to go through after a strong finish to the second set, but the Swiss found something extra in the final set and deservedly goes through.
Make sure you join Sports Mole tomorrow for coverage of the final. Have a good evening and thanks for joining me.
Written by
Daniel Cross
Daniel Cross
