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Day 9 saw the beginning of the quarter-final matches. With stars such as Rafael Nadal, Grigor Dimitrov, Elina Svitolina, and Caroline Wozniacki all in action, fans had a lot of action to look forward to. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal took on Marin Cilic in what was undoubtedly the marquee match of the day. Without further ado, let's have a look at all the action that took place in Melbourne Park on Tuesday.
#1 Rafa retires
In a surprise turn of events, Rafael Nadal retired from his match against Marin Cilic during the fifth set. When Nadal won the first set 6-3 and broke Cilic in the second set, it seemed that Nadal would take control and complete the match in three sets. Cilic, however, broke back, and then won four games in a row to win the set 6-3.
Nadal won the third set in the tie-break. Nadal took a medical timeout for his right thigh in the fourth set with Cilic leading 4-1 who then went on to win the set 6-2 while Nadal started to limp.
Rafa needed treatment on his knee during the changeover. He made little effort on Cilic's serves as it was apparent that the knee was troubling him. In the next game Nadal was in visible pain and after going down by two games he decided that he cannot go on. A forlorn Nadal then shook the umpire's and Cilic's hand.
Nadal's injury should not take anything away from Cilic as he played aggressively hitting 83 winners to Rafa's 39 and 54 unforced errors to Rafa's 30. He also had 20 aces as compared to Rafa's 3. It was an unfortunate end to a thrilling match. The final scorecard read in Cilic's favour 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2, 2-0.
#2 Grigor Dimitrov is shown the door by Kyle Edmund
Unseeded World No. 59, Kyle Edmund, pulled off a huge upset as he stunned third seed Grigor Dimitrov in four sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Edmund became the sixth British man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final in the Open era. The others being Andy Murray, Greg Rusedski, John Lloyd, Roger Taylor, and Tim Henman.
Edmund, playing his first Grand Slam quarter-final, did not show any nerves as he broke the Bulgarian's serve in the very first game. Dimitrov has been inconsistent in the tournament and could not replicate his excellent performance against Nick Kyrgios. He made seven double faults and only 39% of first serves landed in. This is Edmund's first win over a top-five player. Edmund will take on Cilic in the semi-finals.
#3 Another upset in the women's division
Fourth seed Elina Svitolina was upset by unseeded Elise Mertens in straight sets 6-4, 6-0. Similar to Edmund, this was also Mertens' first win over a top-5 player. Mertens becomes the first Belgian since Kirsten Flipkens in 2013 to reach a Grand Slam semi-final and first since Kim Clijsters in 2012 to reach the Australian Open semi-final.
Svitolina was unable to mount much offence as she was broken five times and she won only 46% of the points on her serve. Mertens served for the first set at 5-2 but was unable to hold her serve and was broken on a double fault. She served for the set again at 5-4 and did not allow Svitolina to win another game for the rest of the match.
#4 Wozniacki powers through
Second seed Caroline Wozniacki got past unseeded Carlo Saurez Navarro 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-2. The Dane won the first seven games before Navarro got on the scorecard. The second set was more closely contested as Wozniacki started making errors.
The pair exchanged breaks in the second set and Wozniacki had a match point in the tenth game but was not able to put it away. Saurez Navarro went on to win the tie-break. Wozniacki had 13 unforced errors in the second set as compared to three in the first.
Wozniacki tightened her game in the third set. She made only three unforced errors and broke Suarez Navarro twice. She won the match on her second match point and will now face Mertens in the semi-final.
#5 More quarter-finals matches to look forward to on Day 10
Defending champion, Roger Federer will take on Tomas Berdych in what promises to be a closely-fought contest. Federer had dispatched Berdych in the third round last year.
Giant-killers Chung Hyeon and Tennys Sandgren will play each other in a battle of unseeded players in their first ever Grand Slam quarter-final for both players. Chung had taken out Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic while Sandgren accounted for Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem.
Top seed Simona Halep will face Karolina Pliskova with both players looking to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time. Former champion Angelique Kerber will play US Open 2017 finalist Madison Keys in what should be a close contest.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
