Nadal Crashes Out Of Australian Open After Loss To Thiem

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is out of the Australian Open after losing 7-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 to Austria's Dominic Thiem, becoming the first member of the "big three" to slip up in Melbourne after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic had set up a semi-final meeting on Tuesday.

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Thiem, 26, who was appearing in his first Australian Open quarterfinal, will meet Alexander Zverev, 22, in the semifinal, a youthful match up compared to Federer and Djokovic on the other side of the draw.

Thiem was serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set, only for Nadal to break back. It went to a tie break where, after squandering two match points, the Austrian finally triumphed.
"It came to 5-4 and it was a special situation for me, serving for the match against Rafa for my first semifinals here at the Australian Open," said Thiem.
"[It was] such a mentally tough situation. I couldn't handle it but I turned it around again in the tiebreaker."

The 26-year-old, who is ranked 5th, is chasing a first grand slam title and he noted his initial wrong approach to the match.
"Everybody has it, and I was just rushing way too much, changing a little bit the tactics from all the match, and that was wrong."

Nadal went a break up in the first two sets but wasn't able to capitalize on either as Thiem broke back on both occasions to force a tie break, which he won both times.
The match could have swung either way, with both players having won 102 points apiece after Nadal had claimed the third set.
But Thiem held his nerve to secure his first hardcourt victory over the Spaniard after losing to him in the last two French Open finals.

Nadal, meanwhile, has averred his concentration over the duration of the match. "I don't give up one moment during the match," He told a news conference.

"I gave myself an opportunity until the last moment, so I'm happy for that because my level of concentration and tennis was better I think. My tennis was not bad at all -- it was difficult to play against him."