Rafael Nadal sent crashing out of Madrid Open by Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem produced an inspired performance to send Rafael Nadal crashing out of the Madrid Open.
Nadal entered the match fresh from winning his 50th successive set on clay but fell to a 7-5 6-3 quarter-final defeat to the Austrian.
Thiem was the last last to beat Nadal on clay – a year ago in Rome – and now becomes just the third player behind Novak Djokovic and Gaston Gaudio to beat Nadal on clay three times.
Nadal’s exit means Roger Federer will reclaim the number one spot when the revised ATP rankings are released on Monday.
Thiem will face Kevin Anderson in the semi-finals after he beat Dusan Lajovic 7-6(3) 3-6 6-3 earlier on Friday.
The other semi-final will see Alexander Zverev facing off against Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov, who beat John Isner and Kyle Edmund respectively.
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