Murray beats Nadal to reach semis

Rafael Nadal limped out of the Australian Open, his title defence shattered by a recurring knee problem and a devastating display by Andy Murray. Nadal quit when trailing Murray 6-3 7-6 3-0 but the match was as good as over with the Scotsman deservedly on his way to the semi-finals for the first time. "When the big moments came in the match, I thought I dictated what happened on the court," Murray said. "Obviously, I didn't know when he hurt his knee...but from my side, I played really well and deserved to be up when the match was stopped." It has been 74 years since a British man won a Grand Slam title but the wait could soon be over if Murray can maintain his brilliant form for two more matches. The 22-year-old has not dropped a set in Melbourne and will next face Croatia's Marin Cilic, who wore down seventh seed Andy Roddick 7-6 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-3 but is nearing exhaustion after spending more than 18 hours on court to get this far.