Australian Open: Nadal Retires As Marin Cilic Advances To Semi-Final

The dream of a repeat of last year’s remarkable Australian Open Nadal-Feder final was shattered after Rafael Nadal was forced to withdraw from his last-eight clash with injury.

The world number one retired hurt in the fifth set of an enthralling quarter-final against Marin Cilic at the Australian Open.

The 31-year-old Spaniard who was in visible pain on court, collapsed to the ground in agony when he just started the fifth set decider in his quarter-final match against Cilic.

It is only the second time in his career Nadal has retired during a Grand Slam match.

“An opportunity is gone for me. I am a positive person and I can be positive, but today is an opportunity lost to be in the semifinals of a Grand Slam.

“That’s already happened a couple of times in my life. It’s tough to accept.”

Speaking about his injury, he added: “It’s difficult to know exactly what it is now. Difficult to know exactly the muscle.

“I need to wait a couple of hours. Tomorrow I am going to do a test, an MRI, then we will know.”

Croatia’s Cilic 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.