Brilliant Thiem ends Nadal claycourt streak

TIL Desk Sports/ Austria’s Dominic Thiem sent Rafael Nadal crashing out of the Rome Masters on Friday with a 6-4, 6-3 quarter-final victory, ending the Spaniard’s 17-match winning run. Nadal, a former seven-time champion in the Italian capital, had dominated Thiem to win the Madrid Masters final last week.

But the 30-year-old, seeded fourth in Rome and building up for an assault on a 10th French Open title, was outplayed throughout a thrilling encounter on centre court.

Thiem, the eighth seed, will now meet the winner of the quarter-final clash between four-time winner Novak Djokovic, seeded second, and unseeded Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro. That tie was suspended for the night after torrential rain swept the city. Four-time Djokovic was leading 6-1, 1-2 when play was halted.

Nadal, meanwhile, said he intends to have a free weekend before ramping up his preparations for Roland Garros from Monday. “Tomorrow I’ll be in Mallorca fishing or playing golf, or another thing. I’m going to rest a little bit, I think I deserve it,” said Nadal.