Tennis News: Dominic Thiem beats Rafael Nadal in Barcelona Open semis

Dominic Thiem has joined an elite club by defeating Rafael Nadal in the semi finals of the ATP 500 event in Barcelona yesterday. Thiem has now become only the second player after Novak Djokovic to beat Nadal on clay four times. The Austrian once again proved his class on the dirt by outgunning the Spaniard 6-4 6-4 en route to booking his spot in the finals of Barcelona. On the other hand, the King of Clay suffered his first ever loss in the semis in Barcelona. The 17-time Grand Slam winner was 22-0 in matches and 46-1 in sets during Barcelona semi-finals and finals. Also, it’s just the third time that Nadal has not won either Monte-Carlo or Barcelona in the same year (2014-15) going back to 2005. Thiem who suffered an early exit in Monte Carlo last week looks in great shape and is brimming with confidence. Later in the evening, he will go for his maiden Barcelona title against Russian Danil Medvedev.