Roddick falls as Murray knocks out Nadal at Aussies | Nadal at Aussies | Andy Murray survived an injury-riddled Rafael Nadal | Andy Roddick | Croatia

MELBOURNE, Australia | One Andy moved on, the other Andy is going home.

No. 5-seeded Andy Murray survived an injury-riddled Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday. The second-seeded Nadal conceded in the third set while trailing 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 3-0.

Murray, 22, is trying to become the first man from Great Britain to win a Grand Slam in seven decades.

And he won’t have to beat Andy Roddick to reach the finals.

Roddick ended a tumultuous run in Australia after a week that included a tumble and verbal scuffles with on-court officials. He then dealt with a shoulder injury Tuesday before losing in five sets to Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

The No. 7-seeded Roddick battled pain that began in the first set against Cilic before falling 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3.

His loss extended a six-year drought for American men at the majors. Roddick was the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles trophy at the 2003 U.S. Open.

“By the end of the first set, I was pretty numb in the bottom two fingers,” Roddick said. “I could still hit pretty hard, I was just having trouble controlling it.”

Roddick sought medical treatment on his right shoulder after the first-set tiebreaker. He needed more attention while losing the second set, but played on after the trainer told him there wasn’t a high risk of permanent damage. He rallied to win the next two sets and force a fifth set before fading when Cilic’s serving improved.

He said he wasn’t concerned about serious injury.

“I’m sure we’ll take the proper precautions and check it out,” he said. “But at this point I’m not real, real scared about it.”

Roddick was gracious about praising the 21-year-old Cilic, who ousted U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round and became the first Croatian man to reach an Australian Open semifinal.

“He’s definitely composed,” Roddick said. “He was the same after he lost two sets, as when he won two sets.”

Cilic will have to be composed if he wants to hang with Murray.

Nadal, who won the Australia Open title last year, said he’s picking Murray to win his first major title.

“For Andy, I think he deserves to win his first Grand Slam,” Nadal said, moments after his loss to Murray. “And I think he’s going to do it.”

Source: Associated Press

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