Spanish tennis star, David Ferrer (7), put out an injured Rafael Nadal (1) in their Australian Open 2011 quarter-final.
Ferrer won through 6-4 6-2 6-3 against a first seed who called for a medical timeout in just the third game, and could, at times, barely move around the court.
This was not a vintage semi-final, and Nadal looked to be playing through severe pain for much of this match.
Even Nadal cannot play without legs, so the result looked beyond doubt as soon as Ferrer had got his nose in front in the second set: if Nadal was to get anything like a foothold in this match, it would be through short, punchy rallies.
Nadal went out with an injury at this phase last year; he could have retired today, but battled on valiantly, and in vain, as his compatriot simply worked the ball into areas he could not get to with his injury.
At the end of every point, Nadal grimaced, and a workmanlike David Ferrer performance – which also featured some cultured shots of real class – set up a semi-final appearance with last year’s beaten finalist Andy Murray.
Ferrer may rest assured that a fit Andy Murray will pose a more serious threat than he faced in the quarter final today. While he has beaten Murray three times, he’s never achieved that feat on a hardcourt – only clay – so he enters uncharted waters on Friday.
Last year, Nadal was not beaten in a Grand Slam all season after he retired from the Australian Open: fans of men’s singles tennis will be hoping this injury proves as easy for the player to overcome.
In This Story: Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 2 in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
Nadal has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most in history for a male player, as well as 35 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 21 ATP Tour 500 titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles and the 2016 Olympic gold medal in doubles. In addition, Nadal has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks, including being the year-end No. 1 five times.
In majors, Nadal has won a record twelve French Open titles, four US Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open title, and won at least one Grand Slam every year for a record ten consecutive years (2005–2014). Nadal has won 85 career titles overall, including the most outdoor titles in the Open Era (83) and a record 59 titles on clay. With 81 consecutive wins on clay, Nadal holds the record for the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Nadal has been involved in five Davis Cup titles with Spain, and currently has a 29-win streak and 29–1 record in singles matches at the event. In 2010, at the age of 24, he became the seventh male player and the youngest of five in the Open Era to achieve the singles Career Grand Slam. Nadal is the second male player after Andre Agassi to complete the singles Career Golden Slam, as well as the second male player after Mats Wilander to have won at least two Grand Slams on all three surfaces (grass, hard court and clay).
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