Nadal and Berdych fall out over crowd behaviour in Madrid

MADRID, Oct 21 (Reuters) Czech number one Tomas Berdych said he was bemused by the reaction of both the crowd and Rafael Nadal when he beat the Spaniard 6-3 7-6 in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters.

The 21-year-old was jeered off court by the 10,000 capacity crowd when he raised his finger to his lips to try and silence them after their vociferous support for the world number two.

''I was expecting the crowd to get behind (Nadal) in his own country and I understand that they want him to win the match and the tournament, but they have to understand that other players can win too.'' Berdych said that Nadal had criticised him when they shook hands at the end of the match. ''He said 'You are very bad'.

''I expect the crowd to follow him and be on his side, but this isn't the Davis Cup.'' Berdych, who has now beaten Nadal three times in a row, took the first set with some top-class hardcourt tennis.

The partisan crowd got behind Nadal in the second, cheering both his winners and Berdych's errors but the Czech kept his cool and won through after a nerve-racking tiebreak.

Nadal yesterday said that for him the crowd had behaved perfectly and justified his comments to Berdych at the end of the match and those to Spanish television in which he called him ''stupid''.

''For me the fans were marvellous,'' he said. ''We have to remember that we are in Spain, the fans were incredible and it is always an honour for me to play here.

''When I played in the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup the fans were worse. I've also had my errors cheered in tournaments like in Sweden last time.

''It is normal that the public support their player or team.

It is good for tennis, it makes for a good atmosphere and I don't complain when it happens to me.

''I said he was a bad person for what he did at the end. But that's the end of the story.

''He showed why he is one of the best in the world and why he is close to the top 10. He played very well and beat me even though I was playing well too.'' REUTERS AD RAI0637