World No 1 Rafael Nadal entered the semi-final of the ongoing US Open after struggling past Dominic Thiem of Austria in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old managed to clinch a 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) victory over his Austrian opponent in an epic five-set clash that lasted four hours and 49 minutes.
Thiem made his intentions clear after clinching the opening set 6-0 as he made the Spaniard sweat hard to earn points in the quarter-finals clash. Moving head-to-head in the thrilling clash, the tie-breaker in the decisive set seemed to be the fitting end of the match.
In a classic tie-breaker battle, Nadal inched ahead of Theim to eventually claim the deciding set 7-6(5).
Nadal, who registered his 12th consecutive victory in the tournament, managed to maintain his record of not losing a single US Open quarter-final since his first last-eight appearance in 2006.
In women’s singles event, American tennis star Serena Williams also cemented her spot in the semi-final round of the prestigious tournament after edging past Karolína Pliskova of Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3 in their round-of-eight clash.
