[ad_1]
If it is not broken, do not fix it. Dominic Thiem maintained his aggressive game plan against Rafael Nadal to beat the eleventh champion of the Barcelona Open, Sabadell 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday and reach the final of the ATP 500.
This is the fourth time in three years that Thiem defeated Nadal on clay and his first defeat in semifinal or final of his home tournament. The Spaniard was 22-0 in matches and 46-1 in sets in the semifinals and finals of Barcelona.
You might also like:
Medvedev attends to stun Nishikori in the thriller and reach the final of Barcelona
But Thiem, who was the only player to beat Nadal on clay in both 2017 and 2018, still played fearlessly in front of the front row, blocking the Spaniard behind the bottom line and beating right into the net. ;towards. He joined Novak Djokovic as the only player to beat Nadal on clay four times.
The 2017 finalist (in Nadal) will face the Russian Daniil Medvedev with his third title on the ATP 500 (2016 Acapulco, 2017 Rio). Medvedev beat No. 7 Kei Nishikori 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to qualify for the first time in his clay final.
The 23-year-old leads the ATP Tour with 25 wins, including eight on clay (8-1). Before the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters last week, Medvedev was 2-11 on clay.
Thiem started quickly, breaking when Nadal pitched in a loose serve game at 2-2. Nadal double foul twice, including at 30/40.
Incoming: Thiem
?: @TennisTV | @ThiemDomi | @bcnopenbs pic.twitter.com/syvrJYmpA8
– ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) April 27, 2019
Thalem had four more break points while Nadal was serving at 2-4, but the Spaniard saved them all in a 14-minute match. But while the Spanish fans felt the return, Thiem avoided any crisis and wanted to start.
The Austrian was in attack mode all game, delivering deep and heavy balloons to Nadal, who was struggling to take control of the basic rallies. And at the net, Thiem was happy to put away the point.
Thiem broke once more in the second and got out of trouble at 4-3, 15/30, and again serving for the set at 5-4, 0/40. Thiem had not faced the break point since the last game, but had saved all three, including the third with an ace.
Did you know?
Nadal had won 18 consecutive matches in Barcelona. His last defeat came in the third round of 2015 (in Fognini).
[ad_2]
Source link
