Two clay-loving competitors will finally be facing each other away from their preferred stomping grounds when Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem clash in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Even for the best clay-court player ever and the second-best clay-courter of the present, 10 consecutive encounters on the red stuff without a single one on any other surface is an alarming number. But that is the case with Nadal vs. Thiem, which will be a rematch of this year’s French Open final–won by the Spaniard 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. He leads the head-to-head series 7-3 overall, including 2-1 this season and 5-2 dating back to the start of 2017.
Even when they landed in the same quarter of the draw, another installment of this familiar rivalry could not have been expected due to Thiem’s recent woes. The world No. 9 endured his usual post-Roland Garros slump, compiling a 1-2 record on grass, even falling twice early in clay-court events, and exiting Toronto in his first match with a loss to eventual runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Thiem has suddenly turned it all around in New York, where he is through to the quarters for the first time following wins over Mirza Basic, Steve Johnson, Taylor Fritz, and Kevin Anderson.
Nadal’s U.S. Open title defense has not been completely smooth sailing, as he has has been pushed twice through four matches while also dealing with an apparent minor knee issue. The world No. 1 rolled over David Ferrer and Vasek Pospisil before dropping one set to both Karen Khachanov and Nikoloz Basilashvili, even trailing Khachanov by a set and a break at one point. Nonetheless, Nadal has improved to an awesome 44-3 in 2018 to set up another showdown against an opponent who always looked up to him.
“[My] earliest memories I think was when he beat Roger in the French semis in 2005,” Thiem said of Nadal. “I was 11 back then. Didn’t really think that I would also play him one day, but it’s very nice. It’s going to be the first time on hard court, which is a completely new experience.
“[I’ve had] three very nice experiences and [seven] horrible experiences,” the Austrian joked. “But no, I’m really looking forward to play him on hard court for the first time. On clay, I think it’s one of the biggest challenges in sports to beat this guy or to compete with this guy. I hope that it’s a little bit more comfortable on hard court, but I’m not sure.”
“He’s a fantastic player,” Nadal said of Thiem. “He’s a very powerful player. He’s a great guy; very good relationship with him. Happy for him that he’s in quarterfinals here…. Gonna be a tough one. Yeah, I need to play my best match of the tournament if I want to keep having chances to stay in the tournament.”
The 17-time major champion says that before every match, but he may really mean it this time based on how Thiem played against Anderson (the 24-year-old called it one of the best matches of his career). Still, Thiem’s hard-court history is such that it is difficult to see him turning in that kind of performance twice in succession–especially with Nadal on the other side of the net.
As long as Nadal is at or very close to 100 percent, he should have both the physical and mental edge in a grueling baseline battle.
Pick: Nadal in 4
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