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Dominic Thiem-Rafael Nadal (Source: X)
Tennis star Dominic Thiem has recently announced his decision to retire at the end of the season due to the injuries he sustained during the recent ATP tour. Notably, the star player was in great form back in 2020 when he won the US Open and went on to get his highest world rank of 3. However, 2021 makes the situation worse as he keeps suffering from injuries, which makes him get ruled out of the tournament.
Notably, Theim has always stunned tennis fans with his performances and also holds a great record against Rafael Nadal. In the same vein, here are the four matches where Dominic Theim completely outclassed Rafael Nadal.
4. The 2016 Argentina Open
Dominic Thiem faced Nadal for the second time in his career when both met each other during the 2016 Argentina Open. However, Theim was magnificent at the start of the game, as he took the first set by breaking him twice. However, Nadal also levelled the score in the second set.
Meanwhile, Theim defeated Nadal in the third set and later went on to win the ATP 250 tournament on red clay.
3. 2017 Italian Open
His next win over Nadal came in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Italian Open. Speaking about the match here, the Spaniard was great on clay and went on to win 17 straight matches. However, Thiem defeated Nadal with his powerful groundstrokes and registered his second career win over Nadal.
2. 2018 Madrid Open
The duo faced each other during the semi-finals of the marquee event, where the Austrian defeated Nadal in straight sets (7-5, 6-3). Notably, Thiem broke Nadal's record five times in the match, and for the same reason, Nadal also lost his world number-one rank.
1. 2018 Barcelona Open
Dominic Thiem is the one who has defeated Nadal on more than one of his favourite surfaces. Notably, the star player's fourth clay win against the 14-time Roland Garros champion came at the 2019 Barcelona Open. Thiem faced Nadal in the semi-final of the tournament and defeated him in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
However, after winning the semi-finals, the Austrian went on to win the 2018 Barcelona Open.