ATP Tour

Nadal eyes title after Dimitrov, Thiem crash

2018-04-27 17:52

Barcelona - Rafael Nadal's path to an 11th Barcelona title was cleared of dangermen Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem on Friday when they crashed to shock quarter-final losses.

Second seed Dimitrov was knocked out by fifth-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno-Busta 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

Thiem, the third-seeded Austrian, was stunned by 19-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas with the fast-rising Greek stunning the world number seven 6-3, 6-2 in 80 minutes.

World No 63 Tsitsipas won the last 14 points of the match to reach the semi-finals.

It was his second win over a top 10 player following his victory over Belgium's David Goffin in Antwerp last October.

He will face Carreno-Busta for a place in the final.

Nadal, who has won his last 40 sets played on clay, was taking on Slovakian qualifier Martin Klizan for a place in the semi-finals.

Klizan, ranked at 140, had defeated Novak Djokovic in the second round.

The day's other quarter-final sees Goffin, the fourth seed, facing Roberto Bautista Agut, the eighth-seeded Spaniard.

Barcelona Open results on Friday (x denotes seeding):

Quarter finals

Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) bt Dominic Thiem (AUT x3) 6-3, 6-2

Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP x5) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x2) 6-3, 7-6 (7/4)

NEXT ON SPORT24X

What To Read Next

 

Read News24’s Comments Policy

Live Video Streaming
Video Highlights

Vote

Which is your favourite Grand Slam of the year?

Men
Women
Love 2 Meet
English Premiership flutter

Take Sport24's "expert" tips at your peril...

Sport24 on Twitter

Follow Sport24 news on Twitter

Featured

The 2017/18 Absa Premiership season is under way. Can Bidvest Wits defend their title? Will Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates emerge victorious? Or will the bookies' favourites, Mamelodi Sundowns, taste success for a record eighth time? Stay glued to Sport24 to find out!

Latest blogs
 

Twitter Follow Sport24 on Twitter

Facebook "Like" Sport24's Facebook page

WIN Enter and win with Sport24!

BlackBerry Stay in the loop on your BlackBerry

RSS Feeds Sport news delivered really simply.

 
There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.