The roof now closed because of rain, Djokovic, by now taking an age to deliver each serve, dug deep to hold his next service game, but Berdych's double-fisted backhand was beginning to yield results.
Nadal regained the dominance on serve he had enjoyed for most of the tournament as he saw out the set until he played a poor game at 2-1 down in the second, a double fault and a backhand error giving Djokovic the break to love.
Murray closed to 3-2 after winning a 25-shot rally with a backhand sliced drop shot, but he double faulted on the next point and Djokovic took full advantage.
Murray took advantage of the lifeline with a Verdasco double-fault giving the Scot the chance to serve for the match, which he did thanks to another backhand error from the Spaniard.