Rafael Nadal needed five sets and nearly five hours, but in the wee hours of Wednesday morning the world No. 1 posted a fiercely fought victory over familiar foe Dominic Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Yes, you read that score properly. Nadal was bageled in the first set. Thiem began the match playing a kind of other-worldly tennis, leaving Nadal flat-footed and looking for answers that the 17-time Slam champion did not have–instead watching helplessly as forehands, backhands, and serves sailed past him.
Thiem’s dominance was short-lived, however. The Spaniard served first in the second and finally held for his first game of the match. From that moment on, it was as though the fist set had not happened. The magical tennis was gone for Thiem, replaced with his more typical game.
Nadal nabbed the first break of the second set at 3-4, but he dropped serve with a nervous game at 5-3 to give his break advantage away. As with everything else in Tuesday night’s match, Thiem’s success was fleeting. Nadal got back to work with the ninth seed serving at 4-5 and secured another break to level the match at a set apiece.
It was Thiem who snagged the early break in the third set, Thiem who got the first break at 3-3, and Thiem who served for the set at 5-4. As with all things (except the first set), nothing was easy in this match. The Austrian’s nerves made an appearance and Nadal pounced. The Spaniard snatched the set out from under Thiem: two sets to one, Nadal.
From there, it was an all-out baseline war. Nadal went down an early break and broke back, only to have Thiem force a fifth in the tiebreaker. The 25-year-old fought for all he was worth in the fifth, fighting off break points at 2-2 and 5-5 to force the breaker, but it was not to be. Nadal clinched the victory on a missed overhead from his opponent after 2 a.m. local time.
When asked to describe the challenge of the match, Nadal said, “Sad for him because when arrive this moment, he did all the things well to win the match. Me, too, I think. I fighted until the end.”
Fought they did, and embraced at the conclusion of the battle.
Thiem mused, “Yeah, it’s going to be stuck in my mind forever. Forever I’m going to remember this match, for sure. It’s cruel sometimes, tennis, because I think this match didn’t really deserve a loser. But there has to be one.”
Nadal, who gets two much-needed days of rest, will face Juan Martin del Potro on Friday in the semifinals.
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Nice write-up, Ricky. Thanks!
Yes, in tennis there has to be a loser. Ask Verdasco. Ask Roger. Ask Murray. Ask Rafa. Ask any of the legends. They all carry scars. They are badges of honor. Welcome to the big leagues, Dominic!
wasnt me….
Ah, Cheryl! I shoulda known!!
Hi Cheryl,
Great to see you writing about tennis! I was a huge fan during the TT days. I never really commented, but I used to read everything. It’s great that so many of the regular posters from there are still commenting here!
Looking forward to reading more about the USO and beyond! Cheers!
“Badges of honor”…I agree with that above comment. Both men played like heroes. Bravo!
Rafa was lucky in this match. Thiem has outplayed him at every moment. Rafa has to work on his serv to get the champion title.
Thanks Cheryl.
The locker room formula for beating Nadal is to lay it all on the line and go for broke. Although it makes life uncomfortable for Rafa it doesn’t always work. As Isner said recently, Rafa has to play against everyone’s best effort because they know that anything less will end in a sure defeat.
When Rafa lost his serve in the very first game, it gave Thiem the confidence to go for his shots and the more he made them the more he went for them and Rafa was unable to fend him off until he broke Thiem in the 2nd set. That break also sewed some doubt in Thiem’s mind and he lowered his intensity a little. With being one set all, Thiem was suddenly on equal terms and the real contest began. Rafa began to find his rhythm and wasn’t making as many errors as he did earlier on in the match. Rafa could easily have won the match in 4 but made a couple of errors to take it to a 5th set.
Thiem must be wondering what he has to do to beat Rafa when he (Thiem) is playing as well as he can.
that roast in the 1st set still smells pretty good.
Yeah but the win probably tastes better.
I feel like the smart pick at this point would be Del Po just because Rafa has logged so many more miles leading up to this match and Del Po has dropped just one set on his way here. But honestly Rafa cannot be counted out or even called an underdog due to that fight and resilience he displayed against Thiem. He is obviously finding some of his best form too, even if he has played a lot of tennis.
I think Rafa can get past Delpo at his current level.
So far, Rafa gets too tight and hits short until he has his back to the wall when he’s able to play at a very high level.
He will need to produce that high level consistently to have a chance should he reach the final if Djoko is on the other side.
Djoko will definitely win if his level drops like it did too often in the 1st, middle of the 3rd set and late 4th set.
It’s pretty even matchup since Rafa is getting a couple days off.Slight edge to Delpo
another 5 setter with Delpo and dull will be nicely marinated for djoker in the finals (or clilic).
That was an epic match. I’m not an expert on the sport, but it seemed like Rafa made some clutch mistakes in the 4th that would’ve ended the match at 4. His ability to get beyond those brain farts exceeded Thiem’s ability to bear down when he had his foot on Rafa’s throat. Those are things that will make him one of the best in 5 yrs.
gutted with this loss. thiem had too many chances to win this match however one more high % moonball play prevailed. nadal destroying tennis is nothing new.
“Pederer in Serbian means Gayerer (offensive for male homosexuals/gays), so this is pretty racist if you asked me.”
hey mods is this true? if yes, how is this homophobic peasant hawkFDT allowed to insult players in foreign languages? and not any player, but probably the greatest in open era, a family man and the father of 4 is beyond me!?
Gee, who to believe, mardy fish or another anon in his mother’s basement…
Mardy Fish
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Just recovering from the @ThiemDomi @RafaelNadal match last night. One of the best matches Ive ever seen in my life. The fitness level and mental toughness in those conditions for 4:45 mins is just crazy. Absolute epic!
#rhetorical
These are the kinds of matches that can make a player. Sure, Thiem lost. But he didn’t lose because Nadal was better. When matches are tight like this, it comes down to heart and will…and perhaps courage. I think of the Nadal-Djokovic Wimbledon semifinal – Djokovic was steadier on the biggest points and took more chances at winners.
It’s a privilege to be even a spectator in a match like that.
Greg Rusedski
@GregRusedski1
· 5h
What’s an incredible match between @RafaelNadal vs @ThiemDomi . Rafa has to be the greatest competitor in our sport ever. It’s amazing how he can turn around and win any match. Thank goodness for a final set tiebreaker and 2 days off before the semifinals on Friday.
Best volleyer of all time…
Brad Gilbert
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36-56 net points won from Vamos-Rafa might have been most I have ever seen in his stats before @tennistweetscom
#GOAT
@ThiemDomi
29m29 minutes ago
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Epic match yesterday against @RafaelNadal you are absolutely amazing! Good luck for the semis! #USopen
#GOAT
Thiem’s coach says:
“He is, for me, the best competitor I ever saw in any sport, and I watch sport a lot for many, many years,” said Günter Bresnik, Thiem’s 57-year-old coach. “Nadal’s capable of keeping this very aggressive, high-intensity level over an unbelievably long period of time. And he practices that way, too. There is no difference between practices and matches. I always hear from players that in a match they will do it differently, but if you don’t practice that way, you are not going to do it in the heat of the battle. And Nadal has been doing it for years and years and years.”
#GOAT
a good thing about nadal: he is practically ‘flash in the pan’ after USO all the way till AO.
#GOAT
thiem has beaten nadull retroactively.
#RetirementGoat