ANDY ON SONG, RAFA OUT.

So Andy Murray did what was necessary and disposed of Alexsandr Dolgopolov, though not without a third set wobble. From 2 sets up and 3-1 ahead in the third, Murray managed to lose the set on a tie-break which obviously set a few alarm bells ringing. Thankfully, the 'Great White Hope' of British tennis pulled himself together to take the fourth set and progress to the semi-final.

Today's other quarter-final saw Rafael Nadal take on fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and I was probably not alone in believing that this was going to be little more than a practice session for the number 1 seed. Sadly, Rafa seems to have picked up an, or aggravated an existing, injury early on and despite fighting all the way, he was simply unable to perform at anything like his best. The outcome, Ferrer winning in straight sets, was probably the most unexpected result of the whole tournament and the loss of Nadal is a real disappointment to all true tennis fans.

If tennis fans are sorry to see Rafa go out, Andy Murray can now look forward to a semi-final clash with a man who should not provide anything like the challenge that a fit Nadal would have offered. Murray must be a strong favourite to make it through to his third Grand Slam final where I still expect him to meet Novak Djokovic; I'd much prefer it to be Roger Federer (I'm part Swiss) but I really don't think the great man has it any more.

In the Ladies event, we've also reached the semi-final stage, though almost without noticing that there's been a tournament going on. The womens' game seems to be in a bit of a trough at the moment with assorted upsets through the draw and no one taking control. The absence of Serena and early exits of so many other big names - Venus, Henin, Sharapova et al - has left us with the prospect of not only a new champion but also of a first Grand Slam title for 3 of the 4 semi-finalists. Of the 4 players left, only Kim Clijsters has any real pedigree but she's been far from convincing to date. The others include the current world number 1, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark but who has reached only 1 Grand Slam final in her career, China's Li Na whose best ever Grand Slam performance was reaching the same stage in this event last year, and the Russian Vera Zvonereva who, despite being ranked number 2, has never been better than a runner-up in any Grand Slam, which she achieved in the last 2 events of 2010. It should be a breeze for Wozniacki to beat Li Na and reach the final, but the other match may be very close; perhaps Clijsters greater experience will prove decisive, but I wouldn't bet on it.