Quarterfinal curse fells Nadal again

MELBOURNE, January 23 

Rafa Nadal’s Australian Open quarterfinal curse struck again on Tuesday, an injury forcing the top seed to retire in the fifth set against Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

A wincing Nadal struggled with a muscle strain in his upper right thigh from late in the fourth set before abandoning the match at 3-6 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 2-0, leaving a packed Rod Laver Arena crushed with disappointment. 

It was only the second time the world No. 1 has retired in over 250 Grand Slam matches, his last, coincidentally, during the 2010 quarterfinals against Andy Murray. “It’s not the first time here,” an ashen-faced Nadal said. “I am a positive person... but today is an opportunity lost to be in a semifinals of a Grand Slam.” 

Of the seven Grand Slam quarterfinal defeats of his career, five have now come on the blue hardcourts at Melbourne Park. The 16-time Grand Slam champion said he felt the strain in the third set but was not affected until the fourth when it twinged during a scramble for a drop-shot. He signed off his news conference on a sour note, complaining that too many players were getting injuries.

“Somebody who is running the tour should think a little bit about what’s going on,” said the Spaniard.

Majestic performance

It overshadowed a majestic performance from sixth seed Cilic who reached his second Australian Open semifinal eight years after losing to Murray at the 2010 tournament. Bashing forehands as if felling trees with an axe, the 2014 US Open champion struck a mind-boggling 83 winners to set up a clash with 49th-ranked Briton Kyle Edmund.

Unseeded Edmund bludgeoned his way to a shock 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory over third seed Grigor Dimitrov. The South Africa-born 23-year-old, playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, showed no nerves as he blazed away with his fearsome forehand to subdue a jaded-looking Dimitrov. There were nerves as Edmund served for victory but he held firm to become only the sixth British player to make a Major semifinal in the Open era. — Reuters

Bops-Babos in quarters

Rohan Bopanna and Hungary’s Timea Babos entered the mixed doubles quarterfinals after beating USA’s Vania King and Croatia’s Franko Skugor 6-4 6-4. — PTI

MERTENS’ MESSAGE TO IDOL CLIJSTERS

World No. 37 Elise Mertens became the first Belgian woman since Kim Clijsters in 2012 to reach the last four at Melbourne Park. “Hello Kim, thanks for watching. I know you sent me a message before the match. Don’t be too stressy! She said she had so much stress in my last match. I am trying to be in your footsteps this week,” Mertens said after beating fourth-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-0. She will next face second seed Caroline Wozniacki, who powered past Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0 6-7(3) 6-2.