Dominic Thiem is expected to make things difficult for Rafael Nadal as he is one of the few players who have won the "Squatting" twice on clay (in Buenos Aires 2016 and Rome Masters 2017). The 5-year-old Austrian is also the one who eliminated former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic after 3 sets in the previous round.
Re-matching Nadal in the quarter-finals of Monte Carlo 2018, Thiem could no longer show the overwhelming image as Nole had eliminated. The young Austrian talent continuously missed the ball and created an opportunity for Nadal to easily break the serve game in game 2. Rafa played better and better, continuously punishing the opponent's mistakes to win 6-0 in set 1.
In set 2, the world No. 1 tennis player continuously swirled the ball towards the opposite court. Nadal's right and left shots were both stable and effective, helping him win most of the long- held balls at the back of the pitch. After successfully taking advantage of 2 break opportunities in the 2nd and 8th games, Rafa quickly defeated their opponent 6-2 in this set.
It took Nadal just 68 minutes to beat Thiem 6-0, 6-2 to continue his journey to defend his title. In the semi-finals, the "Land of the Ancestors" will face another left-handed tennis player, Grigor Dimitrov, who beat David Goffin after 2 sets (6-4. 7-6) in the previous quarter-final.
In the following developments, Kei Nishikori was the next name to enter the Monte Carlo semi-finals. The Japanese tennis player struggled to win after 3 sets (6-4, 6-7, 6-3) against the second seed - Marin Cillic. Nishikori will wait for the results of the 4th quarter-final between Richard Gasquet and Alexander Zverev to determine his opponent.
