Nadal squeezes into US Open semis after epic battle with Thiem
Nadal suffered at the hands of close friend Thiem, but squeezes into semis after epic 4-hour battle
Defending champion Rafael Nadal survived an epic US Open quarter-final confrontation to defeat ninth seed Dominic Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5) and reach the semi-finals for the seventh time.
World No. 1 Nadal managed to keep his bid for a fourth title in New York and 18th Grand Slam crown on track after a gripping 4-hour 49-minute contest yesterday morning (Singapore time).
However, the 32-year-old was fortunate to triumph on another hot and humid night at Flushing Meadows, 24 hours after Roger Federer had been dumped out of the tournament by John Millman.
After suffering a first-set "bagel", Nadal had to battle back from breaks in the third and fourth sets before seeing off the first top-20 player he had faced at the US Open since 2013.
"I suffered, that's the right word," said Nadal after playing his longest match at the tournament.
"I played a lot of long and tough matches in my career. That's one more today.
"In some way, when you give everything that you have, win or lose, the personal satisfaction when you give everything and you play with the right attitude is the same."
Thiem broke three times in a 24-minute first set yesterday, handing Nadal just his third "bagel" at a Grand Slam. The top seed won just seven points in the opener.
"I told myself 'wake up'," said Nadal.
I said to Dominic I am sorry. He's a great guy, a close friend who will have many more opportunities to win the big titles. He has a great attitude and is a great fighter."Rafael Nadal on Dominic Thiem
"I needed to move forward, to change that dynamic, and I did. But the first step to change that dynamic is not to find an excuse on the racquet or on the string or on something that is not the truth. The only truth is that you have to do things better to be able to fight for the point and fight for the match."
Nadal recovered from being broken as he served for the second set in the ninth game with an immediate break back to level the contest.
Thiem then grabbed a 4-3 lead in the third which he stretched to 5-3, but then it was his turn to crack as Nadal raced away with three games to claim a two sets to one lead.
Thiem was 4-2 ahead in the fourth set before he was again reeled in and he was two points from defeat in the 12th game.
In a dramatic final set, Nadal saw five break-points come and go before Thiem went long with a smash on the first match-point. It was his 58th unforced error when he sent down 18 aces and fired 74 winners.
The semi-final will pit Nadal against third seed Juan Martin del Potro, who defeated John Isner 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.
Thiem said the epic defeat will "stay with me forever".
"This match is going to be stuck in my mind forever, for sure," said Thiem.
"Tennis is cruel sometimes because this match didn't really deserve a loser. But there has to be one. It ended up in the fifth set tie-breaker, there it's 50/50. He made one more point than me."
Nadal said he had told Thiem he was sorry for the result although the Austrian laughed off that consolation from his close friend.
"I don't think he's really sorry," said the 25-year-old.
"He's a great guy... now I wish him the title the most.
"We almost all the time have great matches. I hope that we have many more in the future - with a different end." - AFP
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