Nadal faces Dimitrov in Monte Carlo semis

monte carlo — Rafael Nadal crushed fifth seed Dominic Thiem 6-0, 6-2 to romp into the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals on Friday as he stepped up his bid for an 11th title in style.

A tight match had been anticipated, but Nadal produced one of the most dominant wins of his career as Thiem fell to pieces.

The Austrian didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 10th game, drawing ironic cheers from the crowd. But it was a ruthless performance from the 16-time Grand Slam champion, who has to successfully defend the title this week to remain ahead of Roger Federer at the top of the world rankings.

Nadal will face Grigor Dimitrov in the last four on Saturday, but the Bulgarian will need a massive improvement from his win over David Goffin if he’s to stand a chance against the 10-time champion.

Earlier, Grigor Dimitrov benefited from a second-set collapse by David Goffin to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals for the first time with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) victory.

The 26-year-old Bulgarian got the better of a nervy Goffin in a repeat of last year’s ATP Tour Finals final to book a last-four clash with either defending champion Rafael Nadal or Austrian Dominic Thiem.

“I felt like I could have done things a bit better, especially at the beginning of the second set,” said Dimitrov.

“Hopefully in my next match I can do better in those moments.” The pair will team up later on Friday in the doubles quarterfinals, but there was little charity on offer from Dimitrov towards his partner turned opponent.

Dimitrov has struggled on clay in the past and has never passed the French Open third round, but he was too strong for sixth seed Goffin in the Monaco sunshine.

Fourth seed Dimitrov edged a tight opening set after failing to serve for it as Goffin produced a poor service game at 5-4 down, before the Belgian recovered to race into a 5-1 lead in the second. —