MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -- As World No. 1 dramatically left the court on Rod Laver Arena defeated and with injured hamstring after the semi-final battle Thursday, his nemesis but friend and compatriot, No. 7 David Ferrer, came to his side. At least, in words during a post-match interview at the Australian Open tennis tournament.

Ferrer, who had reached a career high ranking of No. 4, was quick to admit that without injury, Nadal, though beaten in three straight sets, would have made him struggle in the net, more difficult than he did.

"I fought a lot and it was still not easy. I played aggressively and tried to go to the net but if Rafael was not injured I would not have won in three sets. It is a win but not how I wanted to win," the seventh seed was quoted by the Sportal as saying after the match.

Nadal complained of hamstring injury after the third game in the first set, and called for a timeout for medical treatment. Ferrer praised Nadal for returning to court and fought only to lose the first set 6-4.

"Well it's not easy you know because Rafa is a gentleman. I like him you know, we are friends", Ferrer said, according to The Australian.

The No. 1 player in the world, who set out to Melbourne Park this year to own the Grand Slam title, struggled in the succeeding sets and succumbed to a shocking defeat with 6-4 6-2 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.

Losing in the first game was not a surprise for thousands of patrons who came to watch the game. But everyone, including Ferrer himself, was stunned to see Nadal lose in three straight sets.

The Canberra Times noted that Nadal battled through the match with a taped left leg, emphasizing that the Spanish ace returned to court a different player, with diminishing and dropping power, pace and court movement.

The Sportal claimed Nadal’s body language deteriorated as court coverage became increasingly painful.

If Nadal knew he was in trouble as he was seen grimacing in pain, Federer could also see it and he broke Nadal’s serve seven times in the first set alone. Yet the tennis player from Valencia, Spain attested that he did his game, but fought a lot against the injured teammate.

Ferrer, is now in his second grand slam semi-final since 2007 when he reached the final four in US Open. He will play Scot Andy Murray on Friday to make way for the final two on Sunday.