ATS Sports Blog

Defending champion Rafael Nadal retired from his quarterfinal against Andy Murray with an injured knee. Andy Roddick also went out of the Australian Open on Tuesday, struggling with a shoulder injury before going down in five sets to Marin Cilic.

Nadal said he didn’t want to risk further damage by playing on and potentially having to spend long periods off the tour with knee tendinitis like he did last year. Murray will play a semifinal against Cilic, who beat No. 7 Roddick 7-6 (4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 earlier Tuesday.

Roddick struggled through a right shoulder injury that impaired his movement, but he expects no long-term damage.

Nadal, who struggled with knee tendinitis and was unable to defend his Wimbledon title last season after beating Roger Federer in the Australian Open final, received on-court treatment from a trainer for a right knee ailment after losing the second set. Three games later, the Spaniard decided he couldn’t continue.

Still in the equation at Melbourne Park is three-time champion Federer, who plays Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Novak Djokovic, the 2008 champion, takes on the same year’s runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other quarterfinal.

Roddick’s only major has been the 2003 U.S. Open, the last time an American man has won a Grand Slam singles title, marking the country’s longest drought in men’s majors.

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