MELBOURNE, Jan 22: The tactical brain of Andy Murray proved not to be a match for the brawn of Rafael Nadal in an electrifying fourth-round duel at the Australian Open on Monday.

In a battle between two of the young guns in the sport, second seed Nadal fought tooth-and-nail to down Murray 6-7, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

In the women's draw, there will be no room for sentiment after Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters booked a tantalising quarter-final date.

Apart from being the youngest men left in the tournament, Murray and Nadal also shared the distinction of being the only players to have beaten world No 1 Roger Federer in 2006.

Facing each other across the net for the first time, Nadal had wished Murray ‘Good luck’ before the duo started their warm-up. In hindsight, he may have wished he had kept his mouth shut.

Leading by a set and break in the second, Murray looked like he was on the cusp of pulling off the biggest upset in the men's field.

Murray's tactics were clear from the outset – to employ an all out attacking strategy and to get Nadal out of his comfort zone on the baseline.

Hitting crisp volleys and sizzling groundstrokes, Murray gave his coach Brad Gilbert the thumbs up once he bagged the tight first set on a Hawk-eye overrule.

He maintained the blistering pace in the second to storm into a 4-1 lead. But Murray inexplicably lost his way and allowed Nadal back.

The Spaniard pocketed the next five games to level the match and from then on the contest ebbed and flowed. They traded breakpoints and a breathtaking array of shots until Nadal finally flexed his bulging biceps to wear down an increasingly-frustrated Murray.

After almost four hours of drama, Nadal fell flat on his face having produced a ferocious running backhand winner to seal the contest.

In the women's draw Maria Sharapova, Clijsters and Hingis restored calm at the Open a day after five women's seeds, including defending champion Amelie Mauresmo, were bounced out.

Three-time former champion Hingis withstood a fierce barrage from Li Na who lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Clijsters romped to a 6-1, 7-5 win in 79 minutes after a wild crosscourt error sealed Hantuchova's fate.

Fans scrambled for their earplugs on Rod Laver Arena as top seed Sharapova shrieked to a 7-5, 6-4 win in a Russian catfight against Vera Zvonareva. She will next run into another compatriot, Anna Chakvetadze.

Results (prefix number denotes seeding):

Men’s singles:

Fourth round: 2-Rafael Nadal (Spain) beat 15-Andy Murray (Britain) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; 3-Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) beat 13-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5); 10-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) beat 5-James Blake (US) 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); 12-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat 8-David Nalbandian (Argentina) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Women’s singles:

Fourth round: 1-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat 22-Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 7-5, 6-4; 4-Kim Clijsters (Belgium) beat 15-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-1, 7-5; 12-Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) beat 8-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 6-4, 6-1; 6-Martina Hingis (Switzerland) beat 19-Na Li (China) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.—Reuters