Marin Cilic beat an injured Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 2-0 (ret) on Tuesday to set up a semi-final showdown with Kyle Edmund at the Australian Open.

Nadal received treatment on his hip during a fourth set that he went on to lose convincingly and was forced to throw in the towel early in the fifth.

It was only the second time that the Spaniard had retired injured at a Grand Slam.

‘It was an unbelievable performance from both of us and really unfortunate for Rafa,’ said Cilic. ‘He’s an unbelievable competitor and it’s really unfortunate for him to finish this way.

‘As often happens when you’re wounded, sometimes you’re a little bit looser. So I was really paying attention in this first couple of games, trying to keep my intensity up. He was struggling to return my serve, especially the slider out wide. I was using it a lot and it was working most of the time.

‘The tie-break was weird. I made a few errors. In the third set, I had a lot of chances and somehow Rafa was coming up with good shots at critical moments and that’s the way he’s always been, finding the shots even when he’s not at his best level.’

Cilic will now face Edmund, who upset world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The 23-year-old, who beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the first round, broke Dimitrov’s serve five times and hit 46 winners and 48 unforced errors.

‘It’s an amazing feeling,’ said Edmund, who became only the sixth British man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final. ‘It was my first match on Rod Laver Arena and it is very special.’

In the women’s singles, unseeded Australian Open debutant Elise Mertens thrashed world No 4 Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-0.

The 22-year-old is the first Belgian woman to make the semi-finals since Kim Clijsters in 2012.

‘I’m lost for words. I don’t know what to say. I just gave my all today,’ said Mertens, who is yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament. ‘I played my game today and tried to stay aggressive.’