Posted on 01/26/2011 9:09:55 AM PST by SeekAndFind
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Rafael Nadal's bid to win four straight Grand Slam tournaments is over.
The injured Nadal lost for the second straight year in the Australian Open quarterfinals, going down 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 Wednesday to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.
Nadal, who appeared to have tears in his eyes during a changeover while trailing 3-0 in the third set, took a medical timeout for an apparent leg injury after three games. He was clearly out of sorts, failing to chase down balls that he would ordinarily return easily.
"This is a difficult day for me," Nadal said. "Today I can't do more than what I did, he played at a very high level."
Nadal, who didn't bother chasing the winner on match point, won last year's French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. He was trying to add the Australian title and hold all four major trophies, which hasn't been achieved since Rod Laver won four in a row in 1969.
When pressed about the injury, Nadal said: "I don't have to tell you what I felt on the court, but it is obvious I did not feel at my best. I had a problem with the match at the very beginning, and after that, the match was almost over."
Last year, he retired against Andy Murray because of a right knee ailment that kept him off the tour for two months, again on the Australia Day national holiday.
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