The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)

No. 1 Nadal upset by Thiem in quarters

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MELBOURNE, Australia — Outplayed at his own brand of physical tennis for much of the match, Rafael Nadal finally claimed a set to try to start a comeback against Dominic Thiem.

Nadal marked the moment by hopping in a crouch at the baseline and vigorously pumping his right arm four times.

Soon, though, he was back in trouble. And eventually, his bid to tie Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles by winning the Australian Open was over with a quarterfin­al loss Wednesday to Thiem — a younger version of Nadal himself.

Thiem’s 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (6) victory over the top-seeded Nadal lasted 4 hours, 10 minutes because of so many lengthy, electrifyi­ng points. One rather memorable one featured Thiem stumbling onto his backside before popping up and keeping the ball in play until Nadal made a mistake.

“He’s playing with a lot of energy … (and) determinat­ion. So well done for him,” Nadal said. “I honestly didn’t play a bad match.”

Thiem reached his fifth major semifinal but first somewhere other than at the French Open, the place that is Nadal’s domain.

Of more significan­ce: The outcome ended Nadal’s career-best streak of making at least the semifinals at seven consecutiv­e Grand Slam tournament­s, a span during which he earned three trophies.

“If you want to have a chance against him, one of the all-time greats, everything needs to work in your game,” the fifth-seeded Thiem said.

The last time Nadal didn’t get to the final four at a major? Also at the Australian Open, where he also went out in the quarterfin­als two years ago before finishing as the runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2019.

That was Nadal’s fourth defeat in a final at Melbourne Park since he won his lone title at the place in 2009. He’s won two at Wimbledon, four at the U.S. Open and 12 at the French Open.

Asked what he wished he’d done differentl­y against Thiem, Nadal replied: “Win any tiebreak.”

Thiem had been 0-5 against Nadal at the majors, including losses in the final at Roland Garros each of the past two years.

But this one was different. The defining statistic: Thiem won exactly twice as many points that featured nine or more shots, 24-12.

“Just an unbelievab­le match. Like, epic,” Thiem said. “A very high level from both of us.“

Thiem managed to hang in there with Nadal on physical baseline exchanges, trading groundstro­ke for groundstro­ke and picking the proper spots to move forward.

Or to describe it another way: Thiem was out-Nadaling Nadal, the ultimate grinder who never met a point that was too long or too grueling.

“Even from difficult positions,” Nadal said, praising Thiem’s quickness and power, “he was able to produce amazing shots.”

Now Thiem will play No. 7 Alexander Zverev on Friday for a berth in the title match.

Zverev reached his first major semifinal anywhere by overcoming a terrible start Wednesday and putting together a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka.

So instead of Nadal, 33, against Wawrinka, 34, it’ll be Zverev, 22, against Thiem, 26, a couple of members of the new generation trying to collect a breakthrou­gh Slam title.

“I think it’s the first time I am playing a Grand Slam semifinal and I am the older player,“Thiem said with a chuckle.

 ?? Andy Brownbill / Associated Press ?? Dominic Thiem, left, is congratula­ted by Rafael Nadal after winning their quarterfin­al match at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Andy Brownbill / Associated Press Dominic Thiem, left, is congratula­ted by Rafael Nadal after winning their quarterfin­al match at the Australian Open on Wednesday.

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