Rafael Nadal heads strong Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals line-up

Rafael Nadal continued to dominate in Monte Carlo after crushing Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals. 

The ten-time champion needed just over an hour to see off Austrian Thiem with a 6-0 6-2 success.

Thiem, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the previous round, looked out of sorts and weary from the off, producing 25 unforced errors throughout the match.

Nadal will now headline a strong semi-final line-up and face Grigor Dimitrov, who produced a stunning second-set comeback to defeat his doubles partner David Goffin.

The Bulgarian edged the first set but was 5-1 down in the second. However, he won five games in succession – saving three set-points along the way, to force a tiebreak before sealing a  6-4 7-6 (7/5) victory.

There was less joy for second seed Marin Cilic, who crashed out of the competition following a three-set defeat to Kei Nishikori.

Nishikori recovered from failing to take three match points in the second set to progress to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in 20 months with a 6-4 6-7 (1/7) 6-3 victory.

The Japanese’s reward for his hard-fought win is a last-four encounter with German Alexander Zverev.

World number four Zverev celebrated his 21st birthday by coming from a set down to defeat Frenchman Richard Gasquet 4-6 6-2 7-5 in a marathon match lasting nearly three hours.