Thiem stuns Nadal to reach last four
Zverev breaks barrier with Wawrinka win
MELBOURNE: Dominic Thiem ended six years of Grand Slam frustration against Rafael Nadal yesterday with a seismic 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) upset that booked his maiden Australian Open semi-final and rocked the old guard of men’s tennis.
After a win that quashed doubts about the Austrian’s prowess on hardcourts, the 26-year-old will face Alexander Zverev for a place in the final, a match-up scarcely imaginable at the start of the tournament.
Fifth seed Thiem will head into tomorrow’s clash against the young German brimming with confidence, having ended Nadal’s bid for a recordequalling 20th Grand Slam title.
Turning the tables on the man who beat him in two French Open finals and three other Grand Slam duels, Thiem became only the second Austrian to reach the last four at Melbourne Park, following Thomas Muster’s runs in 1989 and 1997.
“All the match was on a very good level, I think we are both in great form,” said Thiem.
“Today I had the feeling I was lucky in the right situation ... it is necessary because he is one of the greatest of all time. You need some luck to beat him.”
Top seed Nadal had a 9-4 record over Thiem and had beaten him in all their five previous Slam meetings.
But the last time they played on hardcourts — at the 2018 US Open quarter-finals — it was a five-set marathon.
Earlier, German seventh seed Zverev recovered from a slow start to beat former champion Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 6-2 to reach his first career
Grand Slam semi-final.
Zverev was once considered one of the leading ‘Next Gen’ contenders to break the Grand Slam hegemony of Novak Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer who have shared the last 12 majors between them.
But the German, who beat Federer and Djokovic on his way to the 2018 ATP Finals title, fell off the radar as he failed to get past the quarter-finals at the majors.
“It feels awesome, I don’t know what to say,” Zverev said. “I have done well in other tournaments, I have won Masters, I have won the World Tour finals but I never could break that barrier in the Grand Slams.
“You cannot imagine what this means to me and I hope this will be the first of many.”
Zverev came to the year’s first Grand Slam lacking confidence after losing all three of his singles matches at the inaugural ATP Cup.
Zverev has pledged A$10,000 for every match he wins and his entire A$4.12 million (US$2.82 million) first prize money to bushfire relief if he goes on to lift the trophy on Sunday.
“Yes, it is still true. I hope I can make it happen,” Zverev told cheering fans on
Rod Laver Arena. “I made the people of Australia a promise. I will keep that promise if it happens.”
RESULTS
(x denotes seeding)
Men’s singles Quarter-finals
Alexander Zverev (GER x7) bt Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI x15) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2; Dominic Thiem (AUT x5) bt Rafael Nadal (ESP x1) 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) Women’s singles Quarter-finals
Simona Halep (ROM x4) bt Anett Kontaveit (EST x28) 6-1, 6-1; Garbine Muguruza (ESP) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS x30) 7-5, 6-3
ORDER OF PLAY (Thai time, x denotes seeding) ROD LAVER ARENA
10am Ashleigh Barty (AUS x1) v Sofia Kenin (USA x14)
11:30am
Simona Halep (ROM x4) v Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
3:30pm
Roger Federer (SUI x3) v Novak Djokovic (SRB x2)