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While most of you were asleep last night, Rafael Nadal was playing David Ferrer in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

I was just finishing off the touches on a wonderful tennis post, in which I examined who could possibly be able to compete with Nadal at this tournament and in the 2011 year. In it, I wrote this line:

“Unless something unforseen slows him down, Rafa is unstoppable.”

In the second game of the first set, the unforseen occured – Nadal injured his left hamstring. He immediately went to the lockerroom for a medical timeout, and for the remainder of the 3 set match, he fought valiantly. Unfortunately, the opponent – his injured body – was too great.

Patrick McEnroe, during the third set: “I think in a lot of ways, the only reason he’s still out there is out of respect for the man on the other side… and out of respect for the game.”

For the second straight year, Rafael Nadal succumbed to injury at the Australian Open. And his personal loss is an even greater one to the tennis world, as it was just deprived of its first shot at witnessing a player winning four Grand Slams in a row in 42 years.

When the two friends met at the net following the final point, Ferrer asked Nadal if he was okay. Nadal, being who he is, quickly shook his head as if to say it was nothing.

During the press conference afterwards, he continued in this vein:

“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. But you know what, for me 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, no? I prefer don’t talk about that today. If you can respect that, will be a very nice thing for me. Thank you.” (quote from this article on australianopen.com)

Pure class.