Dominic Thiem stuns Rafael Nadal in Madrid, Roger Federer to return to world number one

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 11/05/2018 at 20:23 GMT

An inspired Dominic Thiem produced a brilliant performance to send Rafael Nadal crashing out of the Madrid Open and bring his record-breaking run to a halt.

Thiem was utterly sensational as he powered his way to a 7-5 6-3 quarter-final victory in front of a shocked crowd at the Caja Magica.

Fresh from breaking John McEnroe's record of 49 consecutive sets on clay against Diego Schwartzman, Nadal simply had no response to the rampant Austrian.

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Fittingly, Thiem won the match with a blazing cross-court forehand winner, and Nadal was left to shrug his shoulders in helpless fashion.

The last time Nadal lost on clay was May 17 last year, when he was also defeated by Thiem at the Rome Masters.

Remarkably despite his recent dominance, the Spaniard will now be dethroned by Roger Federer who is absent in the clay-court season.

Thiem has now become only the third player to defeat Nadal three times on clay, joining Novak Djokovic and Gaston Gaudio.

Austria's Dominic Thiem celebrates after winning a point against Croatia's Borna Coric during their ATP Madrid Open round of 16 tennis match at the Caja Magica in Madrid

Image credit: Getty Images

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