Rafael Nadal said he was "sad" to be out of the Australian Open Wednesday, depriving him of the chance to equal Roger Federer's 20 Grand Slam titles, but credited "great opponent" Dominic Thiem after their four-set thriller.

The Spanish world number one was upset by the Austrian fifth seed in the quarter-finals, losing three tie-breakers as he went down 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) it a 4hrs 10mins marathon.