Barcelona Open 2019: Rafael Nadal Drops Out of Title Bid After Losing To Dominic Thiem In Semi-final

Dominic Thiem stopped top seed Rafael Nadal from extending his title bid at Open Blanc Sabadell with straight sets, 6-4 6-4 win over the Spaniard in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Nadal has dominated the tournament with an all-time record high of 11 titles and has defended the title for three seasons in a row (2016).
But in the semi-finals, Thiem followed his stead at Roland Garros France Open last year to claim his fourth match victory over Nadal in his 12th ATP FedEx head-to-head series.
The 23-year-old deployed a good combination of his forehand and backhand shots to curb the world no. 2's drop shot antics and held him of a potential comeback at the opener and sealed the set with a forehand return to the Spaniard's drop shot.
In the second set, Thiem resisted having to drag the set longer with Nadal at 5-4 0/40 and saved three break points to win in straight sets.
The Austrian will meet in the final Russian vet Daniil Medvedev for his second title bid of the season after winning his first at Indian Well by beating Roger Federer in the final.