US Open 2018: Rafael Nadal Narrowly Defeat Dominic Thiem, Sets To Take On Juan Del Potro In Semi-final

Austrian Dominic Thiem showed an incredible performance in the quarter-final match with defending champion Rafael Nadal, claiming a clean opening set win before he later caved in to defeat to the hard fighting Spaniard who reached the semi-final in Flushing Meadow. 

Rafael could not denied the fact that Dominic put him to a test of his career, admittedly saying in a post-match interview that "suffering is the right word. It was a great battle" by the way he managed to outlast the world number nine. 

The quarter-final match was the longest of the tournament, it lasted for nearly five hours (4hrs 49th minutes) during which the world no. 1 fought hard through two consecutive tie-breaks, losing one after he had cleanly dropped the opener to his opponent to claim the victory in five sets by 0-6, 6-4,7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5).

The Roland Garros finalist has often been one unpredictable contender with Nadal whom he defeated in the quarter-finals of Madrid Open in straight sets by 7-5, 6-3. However, Nadal remains atop the Austrian in all their ATP FedEx meetings having won eight out of eleven matches. 

In the next match, Nadal is booked to take on Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro who defeated John Isner in four sets by 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 7-6(7-4), 6-2 to reach the semi-final.