Thiem was simply Dom-inant – Rafa
RAFAEL Nadal praised Dominic Thiem after being muscled out of the Australian Open in the quarterfinals by a superb performance from the Austrian.
World No.1 Nadal had hoped to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 grand slam singles titles, but that will have to wait after fifth seed Thiem powered his way to a 7-6 (3) 7-6 (4) 4-6 7-6 (6) victory to set up a clash with Alexander Zverev.
“It has been a very good match. He has been playing very well. Playing very aggressive, great shots. Even from difficult positions, he was able to produce amazing shots,’’ said Nadal.
“I honestly didn’t play a bad match.
“My attitude was great. Good, positive, fighting spirit all the time. I didn’t give up in one moment during the whole match. I gave myself an opportunity until the last point.
“Of course I am sad. I lost an opportunity to be in the semi-finals of another slam. But I lost against a great opponent.”
Earlier, Zverev reached his first grand slam semi-final with a 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Stan Wawrinka.
So much has been expected of the German for so long, but it was not until he came to a slam a little under the radar that he has been able to make his big breakthrough.
The 22-year-old admitted: “This year I actually came with absolutely no expectations.”
Garbine Muguruza is only two wins away from a third grand slam title after reaching the women’s semi-finals.
The Spaniard was tipped to dominate after winning the French Open title in 2016, aged 22, and Wimbledon the following summer but she is unseeded here having dropped outside the top 30. Last season she won only six matches across the four slams, but from there, Muguruza has been inspired and won a battle of the big hitters 7-5 6-3 against Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
In the last four, Muguruza will face an in-form Simona Halep, who is the only player left in singles yet to drop a set.
The fourth seed played a blistering quarter-final, defeating Estonian first-timer Anett Kontaveit 6-1 6-1 in just 53 minutes.