Rafael Nadal is about to face Dominic Thiem for a place in the Australian Open semifinal. The King of clay seems to be in fine form and he managed to win a tricky 4th round against a dangerous and fully committed Nick Kyrgios.

Rafa has the opportunity of matching Roger Federer’s slam record if he wins this edition of the Australian Open, but right now he needs to think about his next opponent: Dominic Thiem.

In the press conference that followed his match against Kyrgios, Nadal commented:

“[It is going to be] a very tough match. He is playing well. I saw him play today against Gael and he was playing a great high level of tennis. Our match is a match that is going to be a tough one but it will be interesting. I am excited to play this quarterfinal against Dominic. I know I will have to be at my best to have chances.”

Still, the Spanish legend confirmed his optimism to say: “I think I’m moving in the right direction, every day I’m playing better.”

PREDICTION, H2H

Prediction: Nadal in 4 sets

Now ranked no.1, the Spaniard has a 8-2 win-loss record in 2020. Rafael is now playing at the Australian Open where he beat Hugo Dellien 6-2 6-3 6-0, Federico Delbonis 6-3 7-64 6-1, Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-1 6-2 6-4 and Nick Kyrgios 6-3 3-6 7-66 7-64.

 

The Spaniard won 84 titles in his career: 20 on hard courts, 59 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)

Now the world no.5, the Austrian has a 5-2 win-loss record in 2020. Dominic is currently having a run at the Australian Open where he beat Adrian Mannarino 6-3 7-5 6-2, Alex Bolt 6-2 5-7 6-75 6-1 6-2, Taylor Harry Fritz 6-2 6-4 6-75 6-4 and Gael Monfils 6-2 6-4 6-4.

Thiem won 16 titles in his career: 3 on hard courts, 10 on clay courts, 2 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)

The head to head between Dominic and Rafa is 9-4 for Nadal. The last time that they played each other, Nadal won 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 in the final in Paris (French Open) in June 2019.

Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem

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