Rafael Nadal can't make it 18 wins in a row over Tomas Berdych

It was bound to happen. Rafael Nadal had a 17 match winning streak against Tomas Berdych, tonight it's over. Nadal lost in straight sets, 6-2 6-0 7-6 in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Nadal just didn't look like himself from the start, but you can credit Berdych for taking a page out of the Spaniard's playbook relentlessly hitting every corner of the court with pace and precision. While the first and second sets were all about the Czech player and his determination to final beat Nadal in a major, Berdych had to play the best tennis of his life in the third and final set when Nadal finally looked like himself. That is until the tie-breaker. No matter what Nadal did, Berdych had an answer and a better shot.

 My network of tennis players were all texting frantically during the match. Mary Ann shocked by Berdych's serve and Nadal's inability to come up with a counter punch. Nina reminding us: " it isn't over until the fat lady sings and Berdych has a habit of choking." Jim just stopped watching saying it was: "too painful." Well, the fat lady started singing at the end of the tie breaker. Nadal fought as he always does, but it was too little too late. He is fighting back from injuries and layoffs due to appendicitis, seven months off is a very long time in the life of a professional tennis player. He told us all after his last win that he was thrilled to be in the quarters in Melbourne. Tonight with humility and integrity, Nadal tried to find the silver lining. "I have to take positive things," said Nadal."I have to be willing to accept everything and work hard to be back the way I want to be."  He'll now return to Mallorca and reboot. He's done that before and come back stronger than ever, although the competition seems to be getting stronger as well and the top 4 are falling from glory. First it was second seeded Roger Federer, loosing on Friday to #46 Andreas Seppi and now Nadal is out, for his legion of fans it's tough to witness. But he leaves us with this. "I'll be back."