19-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal suffered a major blow as he crashed out of the ongoing Australian Open after slumping to a defeat at the hands of Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem in a thrilling quarter-final clash of the tournament on Wednesday.
Spanish tennis maestro Nadal failed to continue his good form in the tournament so far and suffered a 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 6-7 loss against Thiem in a four-set thriller of the men's singles event that lasted four hours and 10 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.
During the clash, the Austrian tennis star clinched 78 percent of first-serve points and smashed 65 winners to earn his maiden hard-court victory over Nadal. It was also Thiem's first win in a Grand Slam match against his Spanish opponent in his six attempts to reach the first semi-final of the opening major of the season.
Notably, fifth-seeded Thiem has also clinched a victory against Nadal in each of the ATP Tour seasons since 2016. His last four wins against the Spaniard came on clay, the ATP official website reported.
With the win, Thiem also created history by becoming only the second tennis star from his country to make it to the semi-final at the Melbourne Park after two-time semi-finalist Thomas Muster.
The Austrian will now lock horns with Alexander Zeverer for a place in the summit showdown of the tournament. Heading into the last-four clash, Thiem leads the ATP Head-to-Head rivalry against Zverer 6-2, including a semi-final victory at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals.
