Competition for Rafael Nadal will heat up on Saturday in Buenos Aires in the form of Dominic Thiem, who will go up against the Spaniard during semifinal action. The winner may have an advantage in the title match, as No. 2 seed David Ferrer still has to complete his rain-delayed quarterfinal contest against Pablo Cuevas.
Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they collide in the semifinals of the Argentina Open on Saturday. Their only previous showdown came in round two of the 2014 French Open, with Nadal cruising 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
Fast forward more than a full season and Thiem is now a three-time ATP tournament champion and has climbed to No. 19 in the world. All three of the 22-year-old Austrian’s titles have come at 250-point events on outdoor clay, such as this one in Buenos Aires. Thiem is two victories away from another winner’s trophy after taking out Pablo Carreno Busta, Gastao Elias (saved one match point), and Dusan Lajovic.
Solid but unspectacular since getting a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed, Nadal ended Juan Monaco’s comeback tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 victory before scraping past Paolo Lorenzi 7-6(3), 6-2 on Friday. The fifth-ranked Spaniard is seeking a second consecutive title at the Argentina Open.
This is a huge opportunity for Thiem–even on clay–given Nadal’s relative lack of dominance at the moment. While the 14-time major champion is obviously right at home on the slow stuff, it is also the underdog’s favorite surface. It remains to be seen, though, how Thiem’s one-handed backhand will stand up to Nadal’s heavy topspin. His one-hander is flashy, but it is not as consistent as Richard Gasquet’s or as powerful as Stan Wawrinka’s. Count on this one being competitive, with Nadal ultimately wearing Thiem down in a physical baseline battle.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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rafa stepping it up, going for the kill. thiem looks defeated already.
match going exactly as I (and some others) predicted
Yep. Nailbiter.
Except it didn’t.
I stopped picking Rafa yesterday.
Congrats to Me.
Deja vu all over again.
#Verdasco
I predicted three sets and a tough match, but watching this has still been tough. I did say that physical stamina would be a factor.
i thought it was more mental. that between the legs shot seemed to be the momentum changer. a bad decision on a critical point. thiem is prone to mental lapses. for chokers it can play on their minds leading to a poor sequence.
Rafa, serve this out and get it done.
What am I saying? Thiem is serving!
Rafa, break him now and win this!
he’s about to lower the boom
What a massive forehand winner from Thiem to stay alive
Thiem with a huge hold!!!!
Thiem hits incredible shots under pressure. That backhand DTL. Insane tennis right now!!
Yes, great stuff from Thiem.
He holds serve.
PLEASE WIN HERE. PLEASE RAFA.
Tiebreak. Excellent
DF to start the tie break! wow
Double fault to start for Rafa. Shocking and not shocking at the same time
true…shocking and not shocking at the same time
Look’s like he is going to lose here.. 0-3 down… tsk tsk tsk…
No
Only 1 MB
did you see that missed drop shot?! that was SHOCKING even by his poor standards
Yes. Truly unbelievable.
What is going on with Rafa?
now Thiem becomes another player to score a win over rafa on clay.
Inexplicable… he needed to play around 70-75% to beat this Thiem and could not even do that…
Thiem’s strategy has been so poor but he is still about to win this match! 6-4 now…
no not inexplicable vr…he is just not at the races mentally speaking.
he says he’s better but he obviously isn’t.
one reason he could play well at the end of last year was because, as he said, he had no expectations of doing so.
now the expectations and pressure are back he is just folding again.
amy, i know what are you are saying but some of the mistakes he made today… just inexplicable..even if it is mental, what exactly has harmed him SO MUCH that he cannot even put the ball in court on a clay court!
He hits some vintage rafa forehands, makes me think he is getting there but then hits the worst possible shot he can hit to ruin everything.
vr..he has to act by changing the dynamic don’t you think??? he is just trapped in some weird cycle otherwise which is just self-sustaining….
he needs new people!!!!
That’s it. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse.
sorry but i honestly feel like shouting at him and toni to wake up and smell the coffee!! they are just clueless in not meeting the problem head on and making some damn changes….
in fairness, Thiem is probably top 7 in the world on clay right now: Djokovic, Nadal, Wawrinka, Federer, Murray, Nishikori, Thiem
yes ricky but the problems he has with nerves now are so bad….
am happy for thiem though as he is adorable..#team thiem…
Vintage rafa would have beaten him 6-2 6-2 to be honest. Thiem’s return positioning and overall strategy would have been poor against Rafael Nadal of old but it was effective today against this Nadal.
Verdasco.
#MakingExcuses
I would maybe put Stan ahead of Nadal at this point. ?? Sad for Rafa. Huge win for Thiem though he played well towards end of that match. He may be top 10 by end of the year. It’s not super likely but it’s possible imo. Also I would put Ferrer on there at 6 or something.
Ricky,
That may be true, but the tennis channel commies said that Thiem only had one win against a top ten player before this match.
Now it’s two.
How many do you expect for a 22 year old?
first set Almagro
He could not even get a good length on that second serve return , it was blood MATCH POINT!
How low will rafa go? He just keeps going lower and lower!
Until he makes a change.
Not about practise. Or age.
Definition of insanity.
Amy gets it.
Age can only be said to be a factor if he loses some big match in a slam against a big player like Djokovic but what is going on here is something else.
vr..i am sorry to say it but his relationship with toni which apparently is somehow set in stone is now a huge liability for him and has been for a good while now.
also don’t you think that the chronic inability to change is itself a problem and saps the life out of you thus making the problems worse and worse…
it’s virtually a neurosis in its own right…
VR gets it.
Do you? Or don’t you.
am not surprised tbh hawks….
writing on the wall as it will be until he finally does something
in fact all this is just routine and foreseeable now
it would in fact be surprising if he wins a title, even if that title is a 250/500 event on clay…and we are talking about the clay GOAT here!
Surprised this isn’t obvious obvious to everyone.
Nothing new for two years now.
Please stop saying this as though most of us are not aware of what is going on.
My other concern is that Rafa cannot afford to slug it out in these kinds of lower level matches because he is getting older and the injuries and miles on his body have taken a toll.
I have agreed that the primary issue is this mental problem, the lack of confidence. So I would really appreciate it if you would not make this personal.
Rafa apparently does not intend to do anything about it, which makes me question whether the will to win is gone.
impressive. rafa did look a little under the weather but came alive in the third. thiem might be reliable now. breakthrough year?
No, I just think that Thiem ran into a Rafa who is clueless now.
I do give Thiem credit for hanging in there when he was tired and coming up with some great shots when he needed it most.
But I do not think this win portends a breakout year.
Welp nailed my prediction on the head. Wasn’t convinced by Thiem before this match, and that hasn’t really changed afterwards. Rafa plays a B-B+ clay match for his standards and he wins this every time.
awful pick by me. Had Thiem winning then #waffled
Yeah I was tempted to pick him but didn’t.
forgot Ferrer. Thiem 8th, maybe 7th ahead of Nishikori.
The next stop: Rio de Janeiro.
looks like it is going to be more embarrassment there… is he ever going to turn the tables? :s
I really hope some miracle turnaround can happen…
#Zika
Vamos youth.
Tisk tisk Rafa.
he lost to Thiem, not to a 250
Cant win 250 on clay
the points are irrelevant
Look at the UE count and get back to me.
No top 3 player would have lost do Thiem.
you are right here
Double faults and poor drop shots in tie breaks are not age related.
#ProblemaMental
#NothingNew