MELBOURNE, Australia — Second-ranked Rafael Nadal was ousted from the Australian Open today, falling 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals to Chile's Fernando Gonzalez.

Nadal had barely survived a five-setter in his last match, against Andy Murray, in which he looked vulnerable to an upset.

The 10th-seeded Gonzalez, known for his powerful serve, ripped 41 winners with only 16 unforced errors to advance to his first Grand Slam semifinal. He will play Germany's Tommy Haas on Friday. The 12th-seeded Haas saved a match point before upsetting No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.

"I am really happy," Gonzalez said. "Tonight I played really unbelievable tennis. I hope to continue this week."

Fourth-seeded Kim Clijsters, starting her farewell tour, earlier beat friend Martina Hingis 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the women's semifinals.

She next meets top-seeded Maria Sharapova, who advanced to the semifinals for the third straight year with a 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over Anna Chakvetadze, a fellow 19-year-old Russian.

Sharapova had trouble with her serve, while Clijsters had trouble in general, but both found ways to win. Clijsters wasn't sure how after making 62 unforced errors and dropping serve five times.

"I still am asking myself," the 23-year-old Belgian said, who has announced she will retire at the end of the year, tired of nagging injuries and eager to start a family.

"I think the only two things that I did well today was I fought and I tried. That's the only thing you can do when you're not hitting the ball well and you feel like whatever you're trying is not really going your way. Hopefully, it turns it around. Luckily for me, it did."

Sixth-seeded Hingis is a three-time former champion here and reached the finals three other times.

Hingis contributed to Clijsters' malaise with a mix-it-up strategy that included drawing the Belgian to the net, then sending lobs over her head.

"She's a player who really feels it," Clijsters said of Hingis. "She knows when the opponent's not playing well."