World No. 7 Tomas Berdych snapped a 17-match losing streak against Rafael Nadal, defeating the Spaniard 6-2, 6-0, 7-6(5) Tuesday afternoon to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.

In doing so, Berdych avoided becoming the first man to lose 18 straight tour-level matches against a single player. It marked his first win over Nadal since the 2006 Madrid quarter-finals, when he initially opened up a 3-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Seventeen losses later and Berdych seemingly had a mountain to climb if he was to repeat his 2014 Australian Open semi-final appearance.

But the 29-year-old Czech has not dropped a set this fortnight, and now awaits the winner between three-time finalist Andy Murray and 19-year-old Australian Nick Kyrgios, who face off in the night session.