All good things must come to an end. Rafael Nadal’s 17-match win streak on clay was halted on Friday by Dominic Thiem at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, but the Spaniard isn’t hearing alarm bells ringing. “It’s normal that one day you don't feel perfect. If you are unlucky on that day, the opponent plays unbelievable,” said Nadal. “So tomorrow, I will be in Mallorca fishing or playing golf or doing another thing. That's it.” After playing nearly flawless tennis to win three straight titles in Rome, Barcelona and Madrid, the backlog of matches caught up to Nadal and he wasn’t able to recover from a comparatively off day against Thiem. He acknowledged that the Austrian “was better than me this...
Dominic Thiem showed great maturity and poise on Friday afternoon to outplay seven-time former champion Rafael Nadal at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The Austrian learned the lessons from his final losses to Nadal at the recent Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Mutua Madrid Open with a 6-4, 6-3 quarter-final victory in one hour and 51 minutes. It ended Nadal’s 17-match winning streak on red dirt, which included three straight clay crowns. "I came in with a very aggressive game style, because I knew that if I wanted to have a chance, then I would have to do something different and be more aggressive," said Thiem. "I knew that if it goes in, everything, maybe I have a chance. If not,...
Watch highlights as the Bryan brothers win a quarter-final thriller over Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Watch live matches at tennistv.com. Photo: Getty Images
Watch Hot Shot as Dominic Thiem turns up the heat against Rafael Nadal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Watch live matches at tennistv.com. Photo: Getty Images
Guest host of ATP World Tour Uncovered presented by Peugeot, Jamie Murray, chats to Dominic Thiem about how his game style developed and his love for Chelsea FC.