Madrid
Alexander Zverev ended his winless streak on clay against Rafael Nadal on Friday, keeping the Spaniard from winning a sixth Madrid Open.
Zverev defeated Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, picking up his third consecutive win over the 20-time grand slam champion — but first on clay. His previous two wins over Nadal were on indoor hard courts.
“Beating Rafa on a clay court is the hardest thing in our sport,” Zverev said. “Not many people have done it. This week so far it’s been incredible for me. It’s an incredible feeling right now.”
The sixth-ranked German broke second-ranked Nadal’s serve twice in the first set, rallying from 4-2 down, and once in the second. He conceded only two break opportunities.
“Playing against one of the best players in the world, under these circumstances, with this speed of the court, is very difficult to still (feel) confident,” Nadal said. “I tried, but the serve was difficult to control today. Well done for him.”
Nadal, who is preparing to play for a 14th title at the French Open, had been improving after a slow start to his clay season.
He lost to Andrey Rublev in the Monte Carlo quarterfinals then beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona Open final.
Zverev will next face Dominic Thiem in a rematch of the 2018 final. Thiem, who lost to Zverev in straight sets in the Spanish capital three years ago, defeated John Isner 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The fourth-ranked Austrian capitalized on two of his four chances to break Isner’s serve, and that was all he really needed.
Thiem broke the tall American on his first chance in the second set and once more in the third to reach the semifinals in Madrid for the fourth straight time.
“He is one of the best servers in history, especially here in the altitude. His serve is bouncing so high and it’s so difficult to return,” Thiem said. “I really stayed focused, with a good fighting spirit.
Against guys like him, a few points decide and that’s when I saved the break points in the beginning of the second set.”
