Nadal's comeback halted in epic encounter in Brisbane

Spanish great Rafael Nadal's comeback to tennis came to an end when he lost a 3hr 25min marathon quarter-final to Australian Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International on Friday.

Thompson saved three match points in the second set before overcoming an increasingly fatigued Nadal 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in a gruelling encounter that finished just before midnight on Pat Rafter Arena.

Playing his first tournament after almost 12 months away from the sport through injury, Nadal appeared headed for a straight sets win after claiming the first set and then getting to a 6-4 lead in the second set tiebreak.

AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE! ????@jordanthommmo2 pulls off an incredible comeback, saving three match points to knock out Rafael Nadal and reach the @BrisbaneTennis semifinals.

How it happened:https://t.co/yhRvbAXW3W

But an inspired Thompson refused to go away and took advantage of some unforced errors from the Spaniard to clinch the second set.

Nadal, who was broken early in the third set, took a medical time out at 1-4 down after appearing to need treatment to his upper left thigh.

He was able to continue but was unable to break back and Thompson held on to the delight of the capacity crowd.

"I completely forgot I saved match points," Thompson said immediately afterwards.

"To beat Rafa in Brisbane in a quarter-final, and I think it is now my first semi-final on a hard court, I couldn't be happier."

Thompson will now play second seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals after the Bulgarian's 6-1, 6-4 victory over Australian Rinky Hijikata.

The second semi-final sees top seeded Dane Holger Rune up against Russian Roman Safiullin.

Rune looked in great touch as he downed Australian qualifier James Duckworth 6-2, 7-6 (8/6), while unseeded Safiullin