Australian Open: Rafael Nadal's Grand Slam set streak ends at 35

The 20-time Grand Slam champion flubbed two overheads in the tiebreaker and also framed a backhand. Nadal pushed another backhand long on the last point of that set.

Rafael Nadal's Grand Slam set streak has ended at 35 after he dropped one against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal reacts after winning a point against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open (AP)

Nadal took the first two sets of their match 6-3, 6-2, giving him 14 in a row at Melbourne Park, on top of the 21 straight he claimed while winning the championship at the French Open in October.

But Tsitsipas grabbed the third set in a tiebreaker with the help of some uncharacteristic mistakes by Nadal.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion flubbed two overheads in the tiebreaker and also framed a backhand. Nadal pushed another backhand long on the last point of that set.

That leaves Nadal one short of Roger Federer’s professional era record of 36 sets in a row at major tournaments.