World number two Rafael Nadal has been knocked out of the China Open in Beijing following a three sets loss to Slovakian qualifier Martin Klizan in a quarterfinal match today.
It took some effort for the Spaniard to take the first set on the tie-break and he struggled afterwards to match his big-hitting opponent who went on to claim a spot in the last four with a 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 win after two hours and 37 minutes..
The match was only Nadal’s third match since recovering from a wrist injury which kept him sidelined since Wimbledon in July and is his first loss to a qualifier since losing to Julien Benneteau in 2004.
Klizan had served for the first set at 5-4, but Nadal fought back to take the opener in the tie-break before breaking in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead as it seemed the Spaniard would go on to wrap up a semi-final place.
But Klizan drew level at 4-4 before breaking in the 10th game to take the second set 6-4, coming from behind again in the deciding set to set up a semi-final clash with Tomas Berdych who beat John Isner 6-1, 6-4.
Elsewhere, world number one Novak Djokovic advanced to the semis in Beijing with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dmitrov while Andy Murray is also through thanks to a 6-1, 6-4 win over US Open champion Marin Cilic.