Nadal Sent Out of Madrid Open by Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem produced an inspired performance to send Rafael Nadal crashing out of the Madrid Open.

Nadal entered the match fresh from winning his 50th successive set on clay but fell to a 7-5 6-3 quarterfinal defeat to the Austrian, Tennis365.com wrote.

Thiem was the last to beat Nadal on clay - a year ago in Rome - and now becomes just the third player behind Novak Djokovic and Gaston Gaudio to beat Nadal on clay three times.

Nadal’s exit means Roger Federer will reclaim the number one spot when the revised ATP rankings are released on Monday.

Thiem will face Kevin Anderson in the semifinals after he beat Dusan Lajovic 7-6(3) 3-6 6-3 earlier on Friday.

The other semifinal will see Alexander Zverev facing off against Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov, who beat John Isner and Kyle Edmund respectively.