Berdych toils to advance to Australian Open quarters

Seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for the second straight year with a marathon 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) win over No. 10 Nicolas Almagro on Sunday at Hisense Arena.

Last year, Berdych lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. This year, he'll face 10-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, who beat fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in straight sets earlier on Sunday.

The match on Sunday lasted 3 hours, 54 minutes and featured 306 winning points, 161 by Berdych. There were only three service breaks in the match in 18 break-point opportunities.