THE dream is over. Rafael Nadal's shot at tennis immortality came to an abrupt end tonight as he limped out of the Australian Open, beaten in straight sets by fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and a strained hamstring.

He had been trying to complete the ""Rafa Slam"" - owning all four majors at the same time - having collected the 2010 French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open crowns.
It would have been the first time since Rod Laver won all four majors in 1969 that a man could boast such a feat.
Nadal injured a hamstring in the opening games of the first set and never recovered, despite taking pain-killers, undergoing medical treatment and heavy strapping being applied to his leg.
At one stage he appeared to wipe away tears as he sat helpless, the match and a place in history slipping out of his grasp.
The Spaniard hadn't dropped a set all tournament but tonight surrendered under duress in straight sets 6-4 6-2 6-3 to the world No 7.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Nadal left the court immediately as Ferrer spoke to the crowd.
""Well it's not easy you know because Rafa is a gentleman. I like him you know, we are friends,"" the 28-year-old from Valencia said.
""But I had to fight my game, but it's not easy. Tonight I played aggressive and I tried to go to the net. But this is not normally Rafael who loses in three sets. It's one victory for me, but not one I like really. I am happy to be in the semi-finals. It has been an amazing two weeks for me here. And I will keep trying my best.""
Ferrer will now play world No 5 Andy Murray in Friday's semi-final for a spot in Sunday night's final.
It was Murray who Nadal forfeited to in last year's quarter-final because of a left knee injury.
Nadal had made the semi-finals in nine of the past 11 grand slams he had played before coming to Melbourne. He was going for his second Australian Open trophy and his 10th slam singles overall.
No one was prepared for what unfolded tonight before a packed house of 15,000 at Rod Laver Arena. Nadal had arrived in Melbourne carrying an unidentified virus from Doha that caused him to sweat profusely in his earlier rounds. But after beating 15th seed Marin Cilic in the fourth round Nadal had pronounced himself healthy again.
It was after the third game of tonight's match that everyone became transfixed on the 24-year-old. He called for the ATP trainer and after swallowing some type of pain-reliever on court, was whisked into the medical rooms under the stands for a three-minute medical time-out.
When Nadal left the court he looked up at his players' box containing his father Sebastian and his uncle and coach, Toni, and shook his head.
That sent tremors through every onlooker, as they sat largely silent while Ferrer paced around the back of the court.
Nadal returned with his upper left heavily strapped, indicating a hamstring strain, and spoke a few words in Spanish to his box before he prepared to serve. The speed of his serve noticeably slowed, around the 155km/h from the normal 210km/h, and he appeared to be shortening the points.
During the sixth game on Ferrer's serve Nadal went for a running forehand and had to pull up quickly in obvious pain. At the change of ends, he kept stretching his left leg.
The top seed dropped the first set on his serve in the 10th game 6-4. That set alone took 70 minutes to complete with all its drama and emotion. Then the second set was interrupted for eight minutes as the Australia Day fireworks exploded over Melbourne.
Nadal changed into his third shirt and after walking around in circles to keep his leg warm, he left the court with the trainers to have the limb stretched.
Ferrer was in the unenvied role of having to be the villain against one of tennis's all-time heroes.
As the third set entered its final stages, someone in the crowd started singing Que sera sera, or ""whatever will be, will be"".
A few people laughed.
Not Nadal.
(Source: The Australian) World no 1 Rafael Nadal looks dejected during his quarter-final loss to compatriot David Ferrer at the Australian Open.