Australian Open 2021: Rafael Nadal, Ash Barty Losses Highlight Wednesday Results

Day 10 at the 2021 Australian Open in Melbourne was headlined by a pair of upsets in both the men's and women's draws.

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal's quest for a second career Aussie Open title came to an end at the hands of fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in a five-set marathon.

As well, women's No. 1 Ashleigh Barty was knocked out of her home tournament as 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova overcame a one-set deficit to win in three and punch her ticket to the semifinals.

Here is a look at the results of the men's and women's quarterfinal matches from Day 10, along with a deeper dive into how the matches were decided.

Wednesday Results

(5) Stefanos Tsitsipas def. (2) Rafael Nadal: 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5

(25) Karolina Muchova def. (1) Ashleigh Barty: 1-6, 6-3, 6-2

(4) Daniil Medvedev def. (7) Andrey Rublev: 7-5, 6-3, 6-2

(22) Jennifer Brady def. Jessica Pegula: 4-6, 6-2, 6-1

Men's Results

Despite dealing with back issues leading up to the Australian Open, Nadal was impressive in the rounds prior to the quarterfinals and was favored to make his way to the semis.

That was especially true against Tsitsipas, who needed five sets to get past Australian world No. 267 Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.

Tsitsipas advanced to the quarters on a walkover against Matteo Berrettini, however, and the extra rest may have helped him push past Nadal.

Rafa jumped out to an easy 2-0 lead in sets and seemed poised to cruise into the semis, but Tsitsipas began to turn it on in the third and gutted out a tiebreak win, which changed the complexion of the match.

Tsitsipas only broke Nadal twice, but one of them couldn't have been more timely, as it put the Greek star up 6-5 in the fifth set and gave him an opportunity to close out the match.

Although there were some hiccups as Nadal nearly broke back, Tsitsipas showed nerves of steel by hitting an ace on break point and then serving it out for the win.

Tsitsipas was at a loss for words when trying to describe what had happened:

The U.S. Open Tennis Twitter account put the result into context, pointing out that Tsitsipas became only the second man ever to overcome a 2-0 set deficit to beat Nadal at a Grand Slam:

While the tournament ended in disappointment for Nadal, Tsitsipas earned the victory by going toe-to-toe with one of the all-time greats.

Beating a player of Nadal's caliber the way he did could change the course of Tsitsipas' career.

The second men's quarterfinal was also a battle between two top-10 players, both from Russia.

Andrey Rublev was approaching uncharted waters, having never advanced past the quarters of a Grand Slam, while Daniil Medvedev made it as far as the final of the 2019 U.S. Open.

That big-match experience may have helped Medvedev, as the No. 4 seed made quick work of his countryman in straight sets.

Medvedev has made a habit of beating top-10 players. As noted by the ATP Tour, he has not lost a match to a top-10 player since last year's U.S. Open:

By virtue of his quarterfinal win, Medvedev is set to move to a new career-best world ranking of No. 3 as well, and he could reach No. 2 if he wins the Australian Open, per Jose Morgado of Diario Record:

Along with Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev, Medvedev has been considered a player ready to break into the upper echelon and win a Grand Slam over the likes of Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Dominic Thiem was the first to break through last year by winning the U.S. Open. Now Medvedev and Tsitsipas will have that opportunity, as the winner of their semifinal match will advance to the final and presumably face Djokovic, provided he is able to beat Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev.

Women's Results

A significant upset highlighted the women's action at Melbourne Park as 25th-seeded Karolina Muchova came from behind to beat No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in three sets.

Muchova lost handily in the first set before falling behind a break in the second set, but she regrouped and took down the 2019 French Open champion.

WTA Insider noted that Muchova has made a habit of executing remarkable comebacks in this Australian Open:

While the Czech native's comeback was impressive, there was a point of controversy in the match, as she seemed to be refreshed by a medical timeout.

Rather than question Muchova's motives, however, Barty took the high road after the match:

Barty won only three of the final 15 games in the match as she faded after a hot start.

Tumaini Carayol of the Guardian suggested Barty's lack of matches since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year may have contributed to her slowing down over the latter stages:

Regardless, the 24-year-old Muchova came to play and is a Grand Slam semifinalist for the first time.

The second quarterfinal was an All-American affair as No. 22 Jennifer Brady clashed with her close friend, unseeded Jessica Pegula.

Pegula, who ran through a veritable murderer's row to get to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating Victoria Azarenka, Sam Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic and Elina Svitolina, got off to a hot start again Tuesday.

The daughter of Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula took the first set 6-4 and seemed well on her way to a Cinderella run to the semis.

Brady began to impose her will, however, and the difference-maker over the final two sets was her big serve.

Brady registered seven aces to Pegula's none and won 82 percent of her first-serve points, while Pegula won just 56 percent of hers.

Additionally, Brady broke Pegula seven times on 10 opportunities, while Pegula could only cash in four of her 10 break chances.

Pegula later took to Twitter to talk up Brady, and Brady reciprocated:

The stage is set for a semifinal battle between Muchova and Brady, the latter of whom is a Grand Slam semifinalist for the second time after making it that far at last year's U.S. Open.

The winner will be a Grand Slam finalist for the first time and figures to be a huge underdog against the winner of the other semifinal between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.