Ruthless Rafa crushes Thiem

Monte Carlo, April 20

Rafael Nadal crushed fifth seed Dominic Thiem 6-0 6-2 to romp into the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals on Friday as he stepped up his bid for an 11th title in style.

A tight match had been anticipated, but Nadal produced one of the most dominant wins of his career as Thiem fell to pieces in the Monaco sunshine.

The Austrian didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 10th game, drawing ironic cheers from the crowd. But it was a ruthless performance from the 16-time Grand Slam champion, who has to successfully defend the title this week to remain ahead of Roger Federer at the top of the world rankings.

Nadal will face Grigor Dimitrov in the last-4 on Saturday, but the Bulgarian will need a massive improvement from his win over David Goffin if he’s to stand a chance against the 10-time champion.

Dimitrov benefitted from a second-set collapse by Goffin to reach the semifinals for the first time with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory. The 26-year-old Bulgarian got the better of a nervy Goffin in a repeat of last year’s ATP Tour Finals final. 

Kei Nishikori edged past second seed Marin Cilic 6-4 6-7(1) 6-3 to enter the semifinals. Nadal started as if he knew Thiem was a potential threat, holding to love before breaking the 24-year-old at the first time of asking. — AFP