Tennis – Australian Open:Fifth seed Andy Murray booked his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open when Rafa Nadal, the Spanish second seed and defending champion, retired with an injured knee when trailing 6-3 7-6 3-0.
Murray will face Marin Cilic, the first Croatian male to reach the semi-finals in Melbourne, after he fended off an impressive Andy Roddick comeback in five sets.
An absorbing encounter with Nadal was ended prematurely in the third set, although by that stage Murray had stamped his authority over the defending champion to prove a maiden grand slam success is not beyond him at Melbourne Park.
The 22-year-old Scot was leading 6-3 7-6 (7/2) 3-0 when Nadal called an end to the match. It was a worrying sight for the Spaniard after the tendinitis he suffered that undermined his second half of the year.
In a post-match interview televised on BBC2, Murray said: “I’ve known Rafa since I was maybe 13 or 14 and always looked up to him. He’s my favourite player to watch because of his energy and what he brings to the court. I’m a bit gutted for him.
“I came through a few tough points at the start of the match — I had to go for them because he’s the kind of player who makes you go for them. I knew I had to keep going for my shots but I played really well today.”
Asked for his strategy for the game, the Scot continued: “I had to go for my shots, play big tennis and when the big points came, keep them short.
“I served and volleyed a little bit and it all went well. I’ve practised serve and volley a lot in the off-season and it went well tonight — I might do it a little bit more often now.”
Cilic won an epic last-eight battle 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-3 in a match which lasted just under four hours on Rod Laver Arena.
It was the third time in five matches that Cilic has been taken the distance at Melbourne Park this year.
Cilic’s victory was finally sealed when Roddick pushed a backhand volley wide to prompt the Croatian to fall to his knees in delighted exhaustion.
“It wasn’t easy. I’ve got experience to be here in this situation now,” Cilic said. “I just had a few extra gears in the last set. It wasn’t easy.
“I was struggling on serve, he was putting pressure on me and I didn’t know what to do. But point-by-point I worked back.”
Cilic has a good record against Murray eliminated the Scot in their most recent meeting at the US Open in September.
*Sam Barry, meanwhile, bowed out of the Australian Junior Open after losing his second round match to Britain's Oliver Golding
Barry edged a tight first set but Golding proved too strong thereafter and the Limerick youngster was beaten 6-7 (8/10) 6-3 6-4.
Collated results
Men's Singles Quarter-finals:(14) Marin Cilic (Cro) bt (7) Andy Roddick (USA) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-3, (5) Andy Murray (Gbr) bt (2) Rafael Nadal (Spa) 6-3 7-6 (7-2) 3-0 ret
Women's Singles Quarter-finals:Justine Henin (Bel) bt (19) Nadia Petrova (Rus) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5, Jie Zheng (Chn) bt Maria Kirilenko (Rus) 6-1 6-3
Men's Doubles 3rd rd:Ivo Karlovic (Cro) & Dusan Vemic (Ser) bt (5) Lukasz Kubot (Pol) & Oliver Marach (Aut) 2-6 7-6 (13-11) 7-6 (7-4)
Quarter-finals:(1) Bob Bryan (USA) & Mike Bryan (USA) bt Eric Butorac (USA) & Rajeev Ram (USA) 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-2), Michael Kohlmann (Ger) & Jarkko Nieminen (Fin) bt Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) & Ivan Ljubicic (Cro) 4-6 6-1 2-0 ret
Women's Doubles 3rd rd:(1) Cara Black (Zim) & Liezel Huber (USA) bt Victoria Azarenka (Blr) & Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 6-3 6-3
Quarter-finals:(6) Lisa Raymond (USA) & Rennae Stubbs (Aus) bt (13) Gisela Dulko (Arg) & Flavia Pennetta (Ita) 4-6 6-2 6-2, (2) Venus Williams (USA) & Serena Williams (USA) bt (8) Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) & Zi Yan (Chn) 6-4 4-6 6-4
Mixed Doubles 2nd rd:(7) Lisa Raymond (USA) & Wesley Moodie (Rsa) bt Iveta Benesova (Cze) & Lukas Dlouhy (Cze) 6-1 6-4, Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) & Dick Norman (Bel) bt Lucie Hradecka (Cze) & Frantisek Cermak (Cze) w/o
Junior Boy's Singles 2nd rd:Oliver Golding (Gbr) bt Sam Barry (Irl) 6-7 (8-10) 6-3 6-4
Junior Girl's Singles 2nd rd:Laura Robson (Gbr) bt (11) Yulia Putintseva (Rus) 6-2 3-6 6-2
Junior Boy's Doubles 2nd rd:Tom Allen (Gbr) & Jack Carpenter (Gbr) bt Kalle Averfalk (Swe) & Leandro Toledo (Ger) 6-2 6-3