He raised his game to secure an entertaining third set, but his revival proved short lived and Nadal was able to take the fourth and wrap up his third Grand Slam semi-final victory of the season over the Scot.
A dejected British number one said: ‘I’m disappointed with the way I played in the first two sets. The third and fourth were better but it wasn’t good enough.
‘There are many things I could have done a bit better tonight – but I didn’t. He’s probably the greatest player to play tennis.’
