DOMINIC THIEM REMAINS ON FIRE & RAFA NADAL GETS WALKOVER INTO RIO REMATCH WITH CUEVAS

Written by: Staff on 20th February 2016

DOMINIC THIEM REMAINS ON FIRE & RAFA NADAL GETS WALKOVER INTO RIO REMATCH WITH CUEVAS

epaselect epa05171397 Austrian Dominic Thiem in action against Spanish David Ferrer, during their quarter final match of the Rio de Janeiro tournament, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 19 February 2016. EPA/ANTONIO LACERDA |

By Ricky Dimon

Dominic Thiem’s hot streak reached new heights on Friday with a 6-3, 6-2 beatdown of David Ferrer in the Rio Open quarterfinals. Fresh off a title in Buenos Aires, where he beat Rafael Nadal and Nicolas Almagro in consecutive third-set tiebreakers, Thiem needed only one hour and 13 minutes against Ferrer to book his spot in the semis.

For a fleeting moment it looked like the 22-year-old’s unblemished record on the Golden Swing might come to an end. An inauspicious start for the underdog saw Ferrer race out to a 3-1 advantage in the first set. Thiem dropped serve at 1-1 and Ferrer even had a break point to up by a double-break at 4-1, but the Spaniard could not convert. Once Thiem managed to hold for 2-3, he was off to the races. The world No. 19 won the last five games of the opener and broke at 1-1 and 4-2 in the second to surge to a victory.

“It was one of the best matches I’ve ever played, for sure,” Thiem assured. “I’m unbelievably happy to be able to maintain my form from Buenos Aires here in Rio.”

Thiem is now 23-1 in his last 24 clay-court matches at either the 250 or 500-point levels. He is projected to climb to No. 15 in the world even if he loses on Saturday to Guido Pella–a result that does not seem likely.

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal in action against Spanish tennis player Nicolas Almagro during Rio Open 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 18 February 2016. EPA/Antonio Lacerda

In fact, each of the two semifinal showdowns look like possible mismatches. Nadal is going up against Pablo Cuevas on the other side of the draw. The world No. 5 leads the head-to-head series 2-0 and both of his wins came last year on clay. In fact, they faced each other in the quarters of this same Rio event. Cuevas stole a set only to tank the third in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss. Nadal also prevailed 6-3, 6-2 in the Hamburg quarterfinals.

So far this week Nadal has taken out fellow Spaniards Pablo Carreno Busta and Nicolas Almagro in straights. He then got a walkover from an injured Alexandr Dolgopolov. Cuevas also punched his ticket to the last eight without dropping a set. The 45th-ranked Uruguayan ousted Facundo Bagnis, Thiago Monteiro, and Federico Delbonis in an all-unseeded trek through a section of the draw vacated early by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jack Sock. Needless to say, the competition level is ratcheting up in a big way in the form of Nadal.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Rio Open Presented By Claro

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

RESULTS – FRIDAY, 19 FEBRUARY 2016

Singles – Quarter-finals

[1] R. Nadal (ESP) d A. Dolgopolov (UKR) W/O (right shoulder)

[5] D. Thiem (AUT) d [2] D. Ferrer (ESP) 63 62

P. Cuevas (URU) d F. Delbonis (ARG) 64 76(4)

G. Pella (ARG) d [Q] D. Gimeno-Traver (ESP) 57 61 75

Doubles – Quarter-finals

[1] M. Melo (BRA) / B. Soares (BRA) d D. Lajovic (SRB) / D. Thiem (AUT) 63 64

[2] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) d F. Delbonis (ARG) / P. Lorenzi (ITA) 62 16 12-10

[Q] P. Carreno Busta (ESP) / D. Marrero (ESP) d [WC] R. Dutra Silva (BRA) / J. Souza (BRA) 64 75

T. Bellucci (BRA) / M. Demoliner (BRA) d P. Mathieu (FRA) / J. Tsonga (FRA) 75 62

SCHEDULE – SATURDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2016

QUADRA GUGA KUERTEN start 7:00 pm

ATP – G. Pella (ARG) vs [5] D. Thiem (AUT)

ATP – [1] R. Nadal (ESP) vs P. Cuevas (URU)

QUADRA 1 start 5:30 pm

ATP – T. Bellucci (BRA) / M. Demoliner (BRA) vs [2] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL)

Not Before 7:30 pm

ATP – [1] M. Melo (BRA) / B. Soares (BRA) vs [Q] P. Carreno Busta (ESP) / D. Marrero (ESP)

Tournament Information

Surface: outdoor clay

Topics: 10sballs.com, Alexandr Dolgopolov, David Ferrer, Dominic Thiem, Rafa Nadal, Rio Open 2016, Sports, Tennis News

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ElenaFoundation says:

February 22, 2016 at 1:41 am

RT @10sBalls_com: -@ThiemDomi Remains On Fire & @RafaelNadal Gets Walkover Into #RioOpen Rematch With Cuevas
https://t.co/D69E4H2pl3 https:…