Thiem ousts Nadal after 4 hours, reaches semis

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 and put him in his fifth major semifinal.

It is his 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 to narrow his gap with Federer.

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.

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.

The other men’s semifinal is Thursday, with defending champion Novak Djokovic facing 20-time major title winner Roger Federer for the 50th time.

In women’s play, unseeded Garbine Muguruza underlined her return to form by reaching the Australian Open semifinals for the first time, setting up a clash with fellow two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep.

The 26-year-old Spaniard, a former world No. 1, defeated Russia’s 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 7-5, 6-3, in a hot and sunny Melbourne.

Earlier, Halep powered into the semifinals in 53 minutes with a 6-1, 6-1 destruction of Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit.

The other semifinal on Thursday sees top seed and home hope Ashleigh Barty face American 14th seed Sofia Kenin.