Andy Murray in his men's singles semi-final

Andy Murray of Great Britain plays a shot around the net in his semifinal match against Marin Cilic of Croatia

Andy Murray during his quarter-final match

Murray through after Nadal withdraws

The blockbuster Tuesday night men’s quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray has unfortunately been cut short, Nadal retiring due to a right knee injury with Murray leading 6-3 7-6(2) 3-0.

It was an anti-climactic end to what had been a scintillating match. The two men had engaged in some spectacular rallies and executed incredible shots to keep the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena enthralled for two-and-a-half hours.

Confirming that the injury was similar to the knee problems that plagued him throughout 2009, Nadal said that he refused to play through the pain on this occasion, a mistake he had made last year.

“So was impossible to win the match. When I have the chance to play (previously) I never retired. Anyway, like I know I (was) going to lose like I did in Rotterdam like last year. I say sorry to Andy for that,” he said.

“So I don't know if I still playing (that my knee) can go worse or something. So I said, well, no repeat the same mistake like I had last year. I go to the limit, but not cross the limit, no?”

Before Nadal’s injury, Murray played exceptional tennis. He took the initiative during rallies, served brilliantly, struck his backhand venomously and made several successful trips to the net.

The Scot said it was the kind of form that would stand him in good stead in his semi-final against No. 14 seed Marin Cilic, with the Croatian defeating No. 7 seed Andy Roddick in five sets earlier on Tuesday.

“I thought it was very good. You know, when the big moments came in the match, I thought I dictated what happened on the court … from my side, I played really well and, you know, deserved to be up when the match was stopped,” he said.

Nadal concurred, describing the Scot’s level as “unbelievable”.

“Andy played really well I think,” he said.

“His serve was unbelievable with my chances, with the 30-all, with the love-30, with the break-points. (I) just congratulate him because he's doing really well, and I think he (is) going to have a big chance to win this tournament.”

The standard of play was extremely high from the first point; Nadal won it with a delightful drop volley, but only after being forced to play it when Murray tracked down a Nadal forehand that would have been a winner against most other players.

Games went on serve until Nadal secured a break in the third game, aided by winning a sensational point that had both players scrambling all over the court before the Spaniard smacked a forehand winner down the line.

Murray levelled the set with an immediate break back, and saved three break points when down 0-40 to gain a tough service hold in the fifth game.

While Murray appeared comfortable trading shots from the baseline with the world No. 2 and looked extremely dangerous when he pulled the trigger on his groundstrokes, Nadal was lacking penetration in his shots and failed to hurt the Scot. Murray broke in the sixth game, and consolidated on it to take a commanding lead.

Murray clinched the first set in 52 minutes, yet Nadal looked to have settled into the match in the second set as games went on serve.

Play was halted after the fifth game for a nearby fireworks display to commemorate Australia Day, and Murray seemed to have lost focus when he returned to the court, failing to hold serve and allowing Nadal to move ahead 4-2. But in an exact repeat of the first set, Murray scored the immediate break back.

An epic 11th game saw Nadal save four break points. He exuberantly celebrated a volley winner with some intense fist-pumping, and, as the crowd responded enthusiastically, he punished a forehand up the line to go up 6-5. This was followed by an intense 12th game, in which Murray was forced to defend a barrage of bombs off the Nadal racquet to take the set to a tie-breaker.

The breaker was over in a flash; three consecutive forehand errors from Nadal and some powerful overhead smashes from Murray saw the Scot race to a 5-1 lead. He closed it out three points later, and took a two-sets-to-love lead after a 76-minute second set.

Midway through the second game of the third set, Nadal walked to his courtside chair to receive medical attention on his right knee from a trainer. Courtside microphones picked up Nadal explaining that he was having trouble pushing off on that knee.

Returning to court after a three-minute medical timeout, the Spaniard quickly fell behind 3-0 before deciding that he could not continue.

Because Nadal is now unable to defend all of the points he won in claiming the Australian Open title last year, world No. 3 Novak Djokovic is projected to replace him at No. 2 when the new rankings are published next Monday. Nadal could fall as low as No. 4 should Murray make it to the final, with the Scot expected to pick up enough points to leapfrog his vanquished opponent.

Fast facts

- Murray served 13 aces to Nadal’s one.

- Murray won 77 per cent of points when he landed his first serve.

- Nadal converted just two of 12 break point opportunities.

- Murray won 79 per cent of points when he approached the net.

Current Match on Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena - Men's Singles - Quarterfinals Andy Murray GBR (5) 6 77 3 Retired Rafael Nadal ESP (2) 3 62 0 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Andy Murray defeats John Isner in their fourth round match

Andy Murray defeats Florent Serra

Murray dips into his bag of tricks

Popular pre-tournament pick Andy Murray is showing that that all the accolades that were showered on him before the Australian Open fortnight might not have been wishful thinking after all.

In another standout performance, the 22-year-old Scot took a fairly routine 7-5 6-1 6-4 victory over France’s Florent Serra in third round on Friday. The world number five has yet to drop a set in the tournament, largely due to his clean, thoughtful play.

Mixing both power and precision, Murray survived a number of impressive flurries from Serra early on, and then quickly closed the door. He served big, returned effectively, was efficient at the net and won most of the critical points off the ground.

“I'm happy to have won in three sets in all of the matches,” he said. “It's important to have tight situations in matches like the first set today where, it got quite close at points. Against [Marc] Gicquel, like in the third set, it got close. Came through all the sort of tough moments in the match, as well. But I'm happy to save as much energy as possible. Today was hot. So it was nice to get off the court quickly.”

Murray is attempting to become the first British man to win a Grand Slam title in 74 years and clearly, the pressure of his nation is on his talented shoulders. Last year in Melbourne, Fernando Verdasco stunned him, and while he didn’t have a standout year at the 2009 majors, he did manage to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals, where Andy Roddick out-toughed him.

Murray won six titles in 2009 and briefly reached the No. 2 ranking. Much fitter than he was when he first came on tour, Murray no longer has to just rely on just guile to win matches, as he can crack his serve and power groundstrokes.

He registered 49 winners to only 26 from Serra, and won 81 per cent of his first serve points.

Murray will face the red-hot American John Isner, the Auckland champion who took out Gael Monfils, in the next round. It will be a tall task for Murray, as Isner not only owns one of the tour’s most feared serves, but has improved his net game and forehand a ton.

“I want to try and get through the next match,” Murray said. “Isner is playing really well. The guy is 6'9" (and) has (one of the best) if not the best serve on the tour

Caption! Roll on deodorants are BAD

I've never used a roll on deodorant in my life, cos I've always felt a bit uneasy with the thought of having to wipe the ball against my sweaty armpits and then use the same ball on my other armpit (and then use it again another day). If that didn't instill any unpleasant images in your mind, how's this:

Above are some pictures of Rafael Nadal practising at Indian Wells today.

Andy Murray was also practising shirtless - pics after "read more".

Andy Murray plays in the snow in London

After a disappointing Australian Open campaign, Andy Murray went back to training in London.

...But with snow falling down there yesterday, Andy took a little break to build a snowman and pose for some pics for his website.

More photos of Andy Murray's fun in the snow below!

Shirtless Andy Murray flexes his muscles

Andy Murray knows the cameras are all over his shirtless bod, so decides to flex for them.

He then gives some fans a royal treat by signing autographs for them (yes, still shirtless). Stop the teasing and just take it all off Andy!

Click below for the latest set of Andy Murray shirtless in Australia, 2009.