Novak Djokovic vs. Tomas Berdych: Australian Open men’s quarterfinal highlights Day 9

The quarterfinals of the 2013 Australian Open begin on Day 9 in Melbourne, and men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic will face No. 5 Tomas Berdych to open the evening session at Rod Laver Arena. Djokovic was pushed to the limit in the fourth round by Stanislas Wawrinka, but held on to win the fifth set, 12-10, and advance well after midnight in Melbourne on Sunday.

Now, after that five-hour march, he’ll get Berdych, who did not lose a set in his first four matches. Berdych certainly won’t be intimidated by the top player in the world, as he’s upset Djokovic at a Grand Slam before. At Wimbledon in 2010, Berdych advanced all the way to the finals, knocking off both Djokovic and Roger Federer along the way. In that semifinal against Djokovic, Berdych cruised through in straight sets, advancing to the finals of a Slam for the first and only time in his career.

At the Aussie Open, however, Berdych has never moved into the semis, falling in the quarterfinals for the past three years. Now he’ll face the ultimate test in Djokovic, who’s going for his third-straight Australian Open title (and fourth overall). After easily winning his first three matches in straight sets, Djokovic’s attention was immediately roused by Wawrinka in the fourth round. The amount of energy he has left coming off of that five-hour match will certainly be a storyline at the start, but that upset scare could also re-focus him for the challenge of facing Berdych.

The match will begin the evening session at Laver at 7:30 p.m. local time in Melbourne, or 3:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning in the United States. ESPN2 will have the broadcast, coming on the air at 3:30 a.m. ET for the start of the quarterfinals showdown.