MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - - He’s dreamt of becoming the first to take the complete Grand Slam picture but the body of World No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain did not allow him as he struggled against No. 7 and fellow Spanish ace, David Ferrer in the much awaited, record-breaking, semi-final battle at the Australian Open 2011 Thursday.

Nadal’s hope to own all four major Grand Slam titles came to an end as he was crushed in a stunning 6-4 6-2 6-3 straight loss in three sets at the Australian Open. What he has is the three Grand Slam titles in three major events - the 2010 French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open – the crowns he collected at the same time.

And he has nothing to blame but the strained hamstring.

The Canberra Times noted that the King of Clay did not even have a good first game. Nadal injured a hamstring at the opening games of the first set and failed to recover to face Ferrer’s aggressive strikes.

No amount of painkillers supported his Australian Open game, not even the provided medical treatment and the heavy strapping applied to his leg, eased the pain.

He was on his way out the minute the game started. His earlier pronouncement before the semi-final match that he was back in business and again perfectly fit to ace his teammate, was proven otherwise. No one was prepared to see Nadal in that condition. Not even Nadal.