Sports

World number one Rafael Nadal loses in quarter final

January 23, 2018 4:02 pm

Another upset in the Australian Open saw World number one Rafael Nadal injured himself in the fifth set of an epic quarter-final against Marin Cilic.

The top seed was in visible pain on court and Cilic of Croatia will now face British number two Kyle Edmund in the semi-finals following his 3-6 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 2-0 victory.

It was only the second time in 264 Grand Slam matches that Spaniard Nadal has retired – the last being against Briton Andy Murray in the quarter-finals of the 2010 Australian Open.

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Nadal said he would provide an update on his injury today.

“Like I said at this moment I don’t know what happened and its difficult to find out now, but I will wait for a few hours before I can confirm, what happened.”

Meanwhile Belgium’s Elise Mertens defeated Ukrainian fourth seed Elina Svitolina and qualify for the semi-finals.

Mertens will take on second seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-final.