Melbourne (AFP)
Dominic Thiem finally beat Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam, a first which allowed him Wednesday to reach for the first time the semifinals of the Australian Open where he will face Alexander Zverev who, him, had never reached at this stage of a Major.
"I hope to watch them for six hours and that they will be very tired," dreamed Zverev of the match that would decide his opponent. He was answered!
At the end of a 4:10 fight of rare intensity, physical and emotional, Thiem dominated Nadal 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (8 / 6).
"Physically, I'm here, but it's the adrenaline that does that, we'll see how I will be tomorrow," said the 26-year-old Austrian before leaving the court.
The two men started the match by putting all their power, then they accentuated their blows and ended by striking even harder ... And Thiem did not let go an inch in physical combat. At most, he was a bit bored when it came to serving for the 5-4 match in the 4th set.
- "A little special" -
"It was a bit special to serve against Nadal to qualify for my first semi-final in Melbourne ... I couldn't stand the pressure," said Thiem.
But he did not give up completely mentally since he won the third tie break after a last set which dragged on for 72 minutes.
Thiem and Nadal had already faced each other 13 times, and if the Austrian had won 4 of these duels, Nadal had won all those (5) who had disputed in the framework of a Grand Slam, including the last two finals of Roland-Garros.
The scarecrow Nadal passed, Thiem will find himself in an unknown situation for him: "for the first time I will be the oldest of a half of Grand Slam!" he joked.
Because in front of him, he will have one of the most brilliant representatives of the young generation, Alexander Zverev (7th) who finally climbed into the semi-finals of a Major by dismissing Stan Wawrinka (15th) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
"No one can imagine what this means for me. I worked very hard to improve my service and the work pays today, at the best time, because it is in Grand Slam that you have to play your best tennis" , launched the German.
- "I like titles" -
At 22, he has already won three Masters 1000 titles (Rome 2017, Canada 2017 and Madrid 2018) and won the Masters at the end of the season in London in 2018. But he had never crossed the quarter before in Major and believes, however, that having finally arrived is not yet "the best day of (his) life".
"I'm sorry, but I like the titles!" Said the player who reached 3rd place ATP in 2017, becoming the youngest player to reach the podium since Novak Djokovic in 2007.
So he hopes that now that the glass ceiling has been broken, he will open the doors of another world, that of the victors in the Grand Slam.
"I just beat Stan who is a multiple Grand Slam winner. It still gives me some confidence that I can do it," said Zverev.
Nothing is done yet because his record against Thiem is clearly in deficit: the Austrian leads 6 wins to 2, the last obtained at the London Masters at the end of last season.
The winner of Thiem-Zverev on Friday will face for the title that of the 50th classic Federer-Djokovic scheduled for Thursday.
In the women's draw, the semi-finals will oppose Simona Halep (3rd) to Garbine Muguruza (32nd) and Ashleigh Barty (1st) to Sofia Kenin (15th) on Thursday.
© 2020 AFP