Sumit Nagal immediately set his sights on Thiem who has reached two French Open finals, losing both to Nadal.
Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer battled past in-form Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the last-16 at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday.
Nadal had a solid start, but the 35-year-old struggled physically towards the end of the contest
Next up for the 35-year-old will be another American in 39th-ranked Tommy Paul with a potential semi-final clash against top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, who he defeated in the Australian Open final from a two-sets deficit.
It will mark the first Grand Slam final to be contested by two teenagers since Serena Williams and Martina Hingis met in the 1999 US Open title clash.
Kyrgios did not face a single break point and hit 18 aces, including two to close out the final.
Tennis matches at the Ariake Tennis Park will begin from 3pm local time (0600 GMT) from Thursday, governing body International Tennis Federation said after requests from players who had struggled in the stifling weather.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
World No 12 Petra Kvitova returned to court dressed for the French Open but was happy to triumph in the women's draw at an all-Czech tournament on Thursday as the sports world starts to slowly return from the novel coronavirus shutdown. The Prague tournament - played among the top Czech men's and women's players but without fans and with ball boys and girls wearing gloves and face masks - was one of the first after professional tennis was suspended in early March as the world went into lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is happy to finally play tennis again for fans around the world - even if they can only watch on television. The world number 12 will headline an all-Czech tournament in Prague starting Tuesday without spectators, handshakes or the usual towel service.
Images from Day 5 of the 2022 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Thursday.
Sania, the country's finest woman doubles player, who began the year with the number one ranking, closed it at number 9.
Other nominees for the prize are Angelique Kerber (Germany), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic and Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark).
Frenchman Benoit lost his temper in the third game of the second set when top seed Tsitsipas halted the match to attend to a broken shoe lace.
'This was the first time that I played points and that was too much for me today'
Big names and young guns turn up the heat at US Open
Naomi Osaka settled her nerves and stepped up her preparations for the Australian Open by beating Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-2 to reach the last 16 of the Gippsland Trophy warm-up tournament in Melbourne on Tuesday.
US Open champion Naomi Osaka fought back tears and rallied from a set down to outlast Zhang Shuai 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the China Open quarter-finals on Friday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
hampion Rafael Nadal and top-ranked Novak Djokovic turned in impressive displays to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday. Nadal, chasing a record-extending 12th Monte Carlo title, broke Grigor Dimitrov's serve on four occasions to defeat the Bulgarian 6-4 6-1.
Sixth seed Elise Mertens fell to Kaia Kanepi 0-6, 6-0, 7-5 and seventh seed Julia Goerges lost to American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 7-6(0).
Venus Williams also went the distance before claiming a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Croatia's Donna Vekic.
The tournament, with eight players in both the men's and women's draw, will resemble regular tennis as much as possible.
A summary of Friday's tennis action from around the world.
Serena Williams had to dig deep to fend off Latvian challenger Jelena Ostapenko as she wrapped up Friday's play at the Fed Cup in Seattle with a hard-fought victory that gave the United States a 2-0 advantage. Williams' experience and savvy ways showed in critical moments against the 22-year-old Ostapenko as she prevailed 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in a match that took one hour and 46 minutes.
'I knew I was the underdog and I was just enjoying it'
The United States survived a fright from little Latvia on Saturday before winning 3-2 in a Fed Cup qualifier as Serena Williams suffered her first career singles loss in the team event. Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany, Russia and Belarus also moved through to the inaugural 12-nation showdown in Budapest.
Wins deciding set shootout after premature celebration. The Briton, who overcame dual Grand Slam semi-finalist Ekaterina Makarova, thought she had won the first round match after reaching seven points in the third set tiebreak and celebrated accordingly.
Australia's Alex de Minaur fought back from a set down to beat former world number one Andy Murray
Images from Day 9 of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Monday.
IMAGES from Day 6 of the matches played at the US Open at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.
Coric, who had failed to win a match in his last two appearances in Beijing and Shenzhen, saved two break points at 3-3 in the second set and clinched the first four games of the decider to record his 32nd match win of the season.
Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer returned to form to beat Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-6(4) and reach the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Friday.
Zhang Shuai stunned Wimbledon Champion Angelique Kerber 6-1, 2-6, 6-0 in the China Open on Thursday to set up a quarter-final clash with Naomi Osaka.
Images from Day 10 of the 2020 French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
Djokovic is clubbed with Federer, Juan Martin Del Potro, David Goffin and Alexander Zverev.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Sharapova was broken in the first game but fought back to draw level before going on to take the first set with a hold to love.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Halep through but Stephens exits in Cincinnati
