Rafael Nadal's quest to become the first man in 42 years to win four straight grand slam events has ended cruelly, with a hamstring injury leading to a limp Australian Open quarter-final exit against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.
The reigning French Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion, would have been within two victories of the historic feat - last accomplished by Australian legend Rod Laver in 1969 - had he overcome the seventh seed.
But despite Nadal having won their previous seven meetings, with Ferrer claiming a set in just one of those, the lower-ranked player took advantage of his weakened opponent to win 6-4 6-2 6-3.
Ferrer will play Scottish fifth seed Andy Murray in a semi-final, with Murray, along with the other semi-finalists Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, no doubt fancying their title chances more now that Nadal is out of the picture.
While Nadal won the Australian Open in 2009, Melbourne Park has since been the scene of two major disappointments.
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Last year, he retired with a knee injury from a quarter-final when trailing Murray.
That was the only time he has failed to complete a grand slam match and also his last defeat at a major before losing to Ferrer, which broke a 25-match grand slam winning streak.
Nadal was dogged by illness coming into the Open, but had not dropped a set previously this tournament and showed no sign of injury when he started against Ferrer.
But, after a long first three games, the top seed called for a trainer and then a medical time-out.
After leaving the court, he returned with his upper left leg strapped and, obviously struggling, quickly fell down 5-2.
Ferrer muffed a chance to serve out the set at 5-3 and needed three set points in the following game to take the crucial one-set lead.
He also dropped serve early in the second, but sustained his level enough to win 11 of the last 14 games of the match, as the physical and emotional strain drained his countryman.
An increasingly morose Nadal showed spirit and sportsmanship by refusing to retire against his Davis Cup teammate.
Earlier, Murray booked his semi-final berth more predictably, with a 7-5 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win over unseeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Murray, chasing his first grand slam title, admitted to finding Dolgopolov - who had ousted former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world No.4 Robin Soderling in the previous two rounds - a "tricky" and unconventional opponent.
But despite conceding his first set in the tournament, Murray said he never felt in trouble.
The Scottish star, who lost last year's final in straight sets to Federer and did the same thing in the final of the 2008 US Open, said he did not feel mounting pressure to break his grand slam duck.
"It's still the same as when I first was giving myself chances to win slams. It's still exactly the same as it was then. But it's not something that I lose sleep over," he said.
A gracious Ferrer said it was not a nice way to reach his second grand slam semi-final.
"I did my game, I played, I received, I would try to go into the net," he said.
"But if Nadal wasn't injured he would normally have won in three sets. This is a victory for me, but it's not how I like victory normally."
Nadal declined to elaborate on his injury, saying he did not want to detract from his friend Ferrer's achievement, or make excuses.
"It's obvious that I didn't feel at my best. I had a problem during the match, in the very beginning. After that, the match was almost over. So that's what I can say," he said.
"But you know what, for me it is difficult come here and speak about. In Doha I wasn't healthy. Today I have another problem. Seems like I always have problems when I lose, and I don't want to have this image. I prefer I don't talk about that today."
He said Ferrer was playing at a high level and he hoped he went on to win the title.
