Rafael Nadal is bracing himself for yet another tough battle against Austrian Dominic Thiem when the pair face off for a fourth time this season in the Roland Garros semi-finals on Friday.
After reaching a record 10th French Open semi-final on Wednesday courtesy of a retirement from his fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, Nadal told reporters in Paris all the reasons Thiem has been a rising force in the men’s game.
“He’s a very good player. He hits the ball very hard. He’s very powerful on both sides. Forehand, backhand, serve. These weapons are quite good. He steps in the court. He has huge potential to tap, and he can hit the ball very hard. He doesn’t give you a lot of options. I will have to play deep balls. You have to put him in uncomfortable situations,” said Nadal, who beat Thiem in Barcelona and Madrid but lost to the Austrian in Rome last month.
“In Rome it was not a good day for me. I was not in a position to play well the way I wanted to. He put me in a difficult situation, so it’s up to me to avoid being put in uncomfortable situations.”
Nadal has dropped just 22 games en route to the semi-finals – the fewest he has ever lost at Roland Garros on his way to the last-four.
Asked if he would rather have been tested more this tournament ahead of his Thiem clash, Nadal said: “Is always the same, no? If it’s too much, is too much. If it’s less, is less. I am in semi-finals. That’s all. I am in semi-finals and with very positive feelings. I played well all the matches here. The rest of the things, you never know. So it’s difficult to say. Better, worse? I want to be in that position. That’s all,” said the 31-year-old.
The Spaniard leads the tour with 41 wins this season, and also owns a tour-leading 22 match victories on clay in 2017.
Carreno Busta, who was playing his first career Grand Slam quarter-final, pulled a left abdominal muscle while serving at 2-5 in the first set and was forced to retire from the match three games later.
Why is Nadal such a good wind player?
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) June 7, 2017
"Is about accept the mistakes and accept the tough things that can happen during the match," he says.
Nadal is just the fifth man in the Open Era to reach 10 semi-finals at the same Grand Slam. Both him and Thiem are yet to drop a set this fortnight and their showdown on Friday is being described as a virtual final.
The 23-year-old Thiem has made it to his second consecutive Roland Garros semi-final by avenging his defeat to Novak Djokovic, who had beaten the Austrian in the last-four here in 2016.
Thiem, seeded No6 in Paris this fortnight, delivered a knockout punch to the no-longer defending champion Djokovic 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-0 in the quarters on Wednesday.
“He has really heavy spin. You know, he can also play very quick. He’s got an all-around game. For clay courts, he’s a tough player to play against,” said Djokovic of Thiem.
