Tennis top seed Nadal eliminated from Australian Open

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - World number one in tennis, Rafael Nadal was eliminated from the 2020 Australian Open over Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Austria's Dominic Thiem.

Thiem reserved his place for the semifinals for the first time, winning the four-hour match against Nadal with the sets of 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 at Rod Laver Arena.

The 19-time grand slam singles champion, Nadal became the Australian Open champion in 2009, his only title in the tournament.

The 33-year-old player was unable to end his 11-year quest in Melbourne.

Since his only Australian Open triumph, Nadal played 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2019 finals in Australia.

"I can't wait to be back on Friday," Thiem, 26, said after his victory over Nadal.

Thiem will face his German opponent Alexander Zverev in this year's semifinals.

Meanwhile, the 2020 semifinals in men's will see a worth-watching battle between two giants, Switzerland's Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic of Serbia.