Rafael Nadal won’t get a shot at 12th title at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Sunday.
Nadal lost in the Barcelona semifinals for the first time in his career on Saturday afternoon, beaten by Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday afternoon in a two-hour and four-minute contest. Thiem, who finished runner-up to Nadal at the 2018 French Open, did not face a single break point and held from 0-40 down at 5-4 in the second set to clinch victory.
“I’m always super proud if I beat him because he’s the best player ever on this surface, and it’s always very special to beat him here on clay,” the fifth-ranked Austrian said. “We always had great matches in the past, and also today was very good and I was more lucky today and I got the win.”
Up next for Thiem in Sunday’s final is Daniil Medvedev, who survived a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 thriller against fourth-seeded seed Kei Nishikori.
“He was up a break in the third and I felt that I lost the momentum,” Medvedev explained. “The match was going away from me. I’m really happy that I managed to hold my nerves, to try to come back, and I managed to come back. I’m just happy to be in the final.
“I think I’m getting more consistent on every surface and it’s good for me. I hope I can continue improving every day. That’s my goal and I hope I can beat more players like this because that’s when you improve, when you beat these top players.”
[polldaddy poll=10305280]
Er, am I missing something? Didn’t Rafa have 3 break points if Thiem held from 0-40 down in the last game?
Anyway, grats to Thiem on an excellent match and I really hope he wins the final v Medvedev. Thiem has an annoying habit of beating Rafa in a semi or quarter then coughing up the final to his next opponent.
Thiem red hot all week….great tourney for him!