Rafael Nadal lost to Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-3 in the Madrid Open quarterfinals
Friday, breaking the defending champion's run of 21 straight wins on clay
courts. Nadal hadn't
lost a single set on clay since falling to Thiem a year ago in the Italian Open
quarterfinals.
Since that
loss, Nadal had been impeccable on his preferred surface. He won the French
Open and the hard-court US Open to take his Grand Slam haul to 16, and he came
to the Spanish capital fresh off winning his 11th titles at both Monte Carlo
and Barcelona.
But Thiem
succeeded in doing the nearly impossible with his deep drives: Make Nadal look
sluggish and a step slow on clay.
"Of
course I am disappointed," Nadal said. "I tried to fight back, but I
wasn't good enough and he was better."
Thiem got
the better of long rallies by hitting precise winners and avoided the costly
errors that sunk Nadal's title defense.
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