Quarterfinal curse fells Nadal again as Cilic advances

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rafael 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 told reporters. “I am a positive person... but today is an opportunity lost to be in a semifinals of a Grand Slam.”

Of the seven major quarterfinal defeats of his career, five have now come on the blue hard-courts 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.

“I don’t know if they have to think a little bit about the health of the players.

“Not for now that we are playing, but there is life after tennis. I don’t know if we keep playing in these very, very hard surfaces what’s going to happen in the future with our lives.”

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, one of the more unlikely semifinals imaginable.

“It was an unbelievable performance from both of us and it’s really unfortunate for Rafa,” the mild-mannered Cilic told Jim Courier during his post-match interview.

“He always gives his best and it’s unfortunate for him to end this way.”

In other action, unseeded Briton Kyle Edmund reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Bulgarian world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov.

The 23-year-old Edmund, ranked 49th in the world, next faces Cilic.

Meanwhile, Belgian world No. 37 Elise Mertens continued her superb start to the season with a surprise 6-4, 6-0 win over fourth-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.

The 22-year-old, who won a warmup event in Hobart prior to the Australian Open, will take on either second-seed Caroline Wozniacki or Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro in her first Grand Slam semifinal

“I’m without words, I don’t know what to say. I have mixed emotions, all good emotions,” Mertens said on court, the smile still fixed on her face.

“I gave it all today, it was a little stressy at the end. I played my game and it went well.”

The first Belgian woman to make the semifinals in Melbourne since her mentor Kim Clijsters in 2012, Mertens will next meet Caroline Wozniacki or Carla Suarez Navarro.