The Czech dominated proceedings throughout the encounter on his way to a commanding 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 victory as he beat the 14-time Grand Slam winner for the first time in nine years.

Berdych, seeded seventh, will now face Andy Murray in the last four after the Briton eased past home favourite Nick Kyrgios in straight sets in front of a partisan crowd at the Rod Laver Arena.

In the women's draw, the eagerly-anticipated clash between Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard failed to live up to its billing as the Russian swept aside the talented Canadian with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory.

The second seed will meet compatriot Ekaterina Makarova in the semi-finals after she thrashed Simona Halep 6-4, 6-0.

But the main plaudits have deservedly gone to Berdych, who dictated the pace and tempo of his clash with Nadal, largely by keeping the Spaniard's trademark forehand at bay.

The 29-year-old raced into a two sets to love lead after just an hour, only conceding two games in the process as he constantly pounced on Nadal's errors.

Rafael Nadal was a shadow of his former self as he crashed out of the Australian Open with a straight sets defeat to Tomas Berdych ©Getty Images



"It feels great," Berdych said.

"The really good thing is the plan that we put together was the right one.

"Everything was working and I was able to execute it really well.

"There is a still long way to go in this tournament and I need to be ready for it."

Nadal, winner of the Australian Open in 2009, had been bogged down by constant injury problems throughout the tournament, particularly during his epic five-set win over qualifier Tim Symczek in round two, but he insisted he had no problems during the match and lamented his display.

"You cannot expect to win matches in quarter-finals of a Grand Slam helping the opponent to play well," he said.

"That's what I did the first two sets.

"From the beginning of the third, I played with more character."

Maria Sharapova enjoyed a comfortable progression to the semi-finals after she beat Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets ©Getty Images



In the last match of the day, Murray continued his formidable recent run of form as he beat 19-year-old Kyrgios  6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

The British number one produced a superb performance to silence the raucous crowd on his way to reaching the semi-finals in Australia for the fifth time.

Earlier, Sharapova breezed past Bouchard in just 78 minutes to set up an all-Russian last four contest with Makarova, who negotiated her tough test with Halep with consummate ease.

Tomorrow's action sees men's top seed Novak Djokovic from Serbia entertain Canada's Milos Raonic, while Switzerland's defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka faces Japanese sensation Kei Nishikori.

Both Williams sisters will also take to the court as Serena plays Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova and Venus is involved in an all-American clash with the unseeded Marian Keys.

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