Ever since the draw came out in Monte Carlo 2018, the entire tennis world expected the quarter-final clash between Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem. Nadal reached the last eight with solid wins over Aljaz Bedene and Karen Khachanov. Thiem had to survive a battle against Novak Djokovic on the previous day that lasted for two and a half hours, with nothing left in the tank for the Nadal clash. It was the eighth meeting between the Spaniard and the Austrian, all on clay. A ten-time Monte Carlo champion Nadal needed just 68 minutes to topple Thiem 6-0, 6-2 and advance into the 13th Monte Carlo semi-final in 15 appearances! Thiem was the only player who defeated Rafa on clay in 2017, ousting him in the Rome quarter-final.
A few weeks later, Nadal restored the order in the Roland Garros semi-final and dropped just seven games. Next spring, Rafa continued in the same style in Monte Carlo, giving away two games in the last three sets played against the Austrian! Tired, slow and unsettled, Thiem served at 41% and turned his service games into a nightmare. Dominic lost almost 60% of the points and faced 12 break chances to feel the constant pressure. Rafa sailed through his service games, dropping six points behind the initial shot and allowing Thiem to reach just one deuce and no break chances.
Nadal was in his full throttle from the baseline, dictating the pace with in-depth and accurate groundstrokes that dismantled Thiem completely. In that 2017 Rome match, the Austrian was very efficient on the return and the crucial points. On the other hand, nothing worked his way here in Monte Carlo, as he sprayed almost 40 errors. Nadal’s groundstrokes worked like a charm, and he poured just ten mistakes. The Spaniard stood as the dominant figure in the shortest and especially the longer rallies, where Thiem had nothing to confront and make the match a bit more interesting.
Rafael Nadal destroyed tired Dominic Thiem in Monte Carlo 2018.
Rafa was never out of the comfort zone outside eight forced errors, playing almost an error-free game and keeping a high level throughout the match. As we already said, the defending champion served at 71% and was untroubled on the first and second serve. He maintained the pressure on the other side of the net and hit with more risk in the return games to gain the advantage. Outside the service winners, Dominic failed to do much behind his initial shot, incapable of finding the zone with his first groundstroke. His strokes lacked power and accuracy, and they could not harm such a strong rival on the other side.
They had 11 service winners each, and Rafa fired ten winners from the field in comparison to Dominic’s six, none from his backhand. Five of those Nadal’s direct points from the court came in the opening two games. There was no need to pursue them in the rest of the clash after crumbling Thiem with the sheer depth of his shots and counting rival’s errors. The most striking difference between Rafa and Dominic emerged on the surface when we checked the number of unforced errors. Nadal stroke two while Thiem counted 18, as the Austrian could not control his backhand like he usually does.
Rafa did make eight forced errors, seven from his backhand wing. On the other hand, Dominic had 14, powerless against Nadal’s crosscourt missiles that would open the court and give him the initiative in the rallies. Thiem sprayed five double faults in comparison to only one from Nadal. The Austrian had 17 winners and 37 errors, a bit too much if he wanted to stand a chance against the king of clay. Rafa tamed his shots perfectly, firing 21 winners with just 11 errors and staying in front all the time to race into the semis. The Spaniard had a 31-22 lead in the shortest points up to four strokes. He made the real contrast in the rallies that reached the five-stroke mark, taking 27 out of 33 to sail over the finish line.