Dominic Thiem snaps Rafa Nadal’s 21-match winning streak on clay

Dominic Thiem brought an end to Rafael Nadal’s clay court streak on Friday.

With his 7-5, 6-3 victory over Nadal in the Madrid Open quarterfinals, Thiem snapped Nadal’s 50-set winning streak on clay, and his 21-match winning streak. The last man to beat Nadal on clay was the Austrian on May 17, 2017 in Rome.

The two stars last met at the Monte Carlo Masters in which Nadal stormed to a 6-0, 6-2 victory.

Down goes Rafa. pic.twitter.com/YLO3wfr5pf
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 11, 2018

John McEnroe won 49 straight sets on carpet in 1984.

Thiem will face South African Kevin Anderson in the semifinals.

Nadal, winner of 11 French Open titles and 16 Grand Slam crowns, will lose his No. 1 ranking to rival Roger Federer on Monday.

Photo: Getty

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Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.