MELBOURNE • Rafael Nadal's bid for a record 21st men's Grand Slam singles title ended yesterday when he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open.

The Greek had dropped the first two sets but came back to defeat the world No. 2 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 7-5, in a gruelling four-hour duel for the biggest win of his Grand Slam career.

The Spaniard played a near flawless first three sets, not allowing a break of his serve or even a break point, and he appeared in full control of the match.

But in the third-set tie-breaker, he missed two overheads and sent a backhand wide to give Tsitsipas the tie-breaker and a lifeline.

Then what had been a rout turned into a street fight.

Playing on fresh legs after winning his fourth-round match via a walkover, the world No. 6 Tsitsipas, who at 22 years old is 12 years younger than Nadal, seemed to gain energy and a bounce in his step as the warm evening wore on.

In the fifth set, he served four consecutive aces to tie the set at 3-3 and while serving at 5-5, Nadal made two errors to lose the first two points of the game. He then missed wide on the forehand to give the 2019 ATP Finals champion his chance to serve out the match.

The final game was a microcosm of the match with Tsitsipas blasting a backhand down the line to clinch the match, becoming only the second man after Fabio Fognini to come back from two sets down to beat Nadal at a Slam.

"I have no words to describe it," he said. "I fly like a little bird and everything was working for me. The emotions in the end are indescribable.

"My tennis speaks out for itself. It's an unbelievable feeling to be able to fight on such level, just to be able to leave my all out on court."

For Nadal, the loss prevented him from pushing ahead of Swiss great Roger Federer in their duel to earn the most number of Slams.

He was not the favourite in this tournament, having won at Melbourne Park just once in 2009.

However, the upset still came as a surprise as coming into the match, Nadal had a 6-1 advantage in head-to-head clashes with Tsitsipas.

The second seed later admitted he was "sad" but refused to blame the mandatory two-week quarantine for him running out of gas at the end.

"I lost a match in quarter-finals of an event that means a lot to me," he said. "I tried my best in every single moment... Sometimes, it's enough, today was not enough.

"Maybe this quarantine we need to be more time in the room than usual. But I'm not the guy that's going to find excuses or going to complain about what happened."

Nadal's loss is likely to make Novak Djokovic's bid for a record ninth Australian Open men's singles title and an 18th Slam easier.

The world No. 1 plays Russia's Aslan Karatsev, ranked 113 spots below him, in the semi-finals today. Fans, capped at 50 per cent capacity or 7,477 per session, are set to return after a five-day "snap lockdown" declared by Victoria state authorities, which meant all rounds from last weekend had to be played behind closed doors.

If the Serb wins that, he will face either Tsitsipas or Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the final.

Medvedev, the reigning ATP Finals champion, defeated good friend and compatriot Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in the earlier match for his fourth straight-sets win against the seventh seed in as many matches on the ATP Tour.

The 25-year-old, who is on a 19-match winning streak, has a 5-1 advantage in head-to-head meetings but Tsitsipas plans on overcoming the challenge, just like with Nadal.

"He is an opponent that plays really very well," he said. "He is going to give me a very difficult time but each single match I get to play in Australia is bliss."

NYTIMES, REUTERS

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

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