Rafael Nadal was left to rue missed opportunities following a marathon 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-7 (6-8) loss to Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The world No 1 had an opportunity to serve for the first set and went a break up in the second, before losing both to the determined 26-year-old Austrian.
Nadal re-grouped and took the third set, but Thiem showcased his fitness and shot-making prowess to capitalise on an early break in the fourth and eventually finished the job in another tie break after four hours and 10 minutes.
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This defeat ends Nadal’s quest to equal Roger Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles in Australia and brings his record against Thiem back to 9-5.
Thiem will now face Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the second semi-final on Friday after Zverev triumphed over Stan Wawrinka 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 earlier in the day.
The first semi-final will take place on Thursday at the Rod Laver Arena and will be the 50th career-meeting between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
