Beaten twice by Nadal in the space of a month, in the Barcelona and Madrid Open finals, Thiem took his revenge by handing the 30-year-old Spaniard a first clay court defeat of the season in Rome.
Nadal becomes just the fourth man to achieve 1,000 singles victories in the Open Era, behind Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,242) and Ivan Lendl (1,068).
Rafael Nadal suffered a shock 7-5, 6-3 defeat by Austrian Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Friday, a result that means the Spaniard will lose the world number one ranking.
If Rafael Nadal's Australian Open semi-final win over Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas was one-sided, Novak Djokovic showed he could be even more brutal in his victory against Lucas Pouille on Friday.
Tsitsipas had lost all five previous matches against the Russian, but turned the tables in impressive fashion.
With the ATP Finals coming up next month, Nadal said on his Facebook page he had made the decision to pull out of next week's Basel tournament after getting medical advice.
A red hot Rafael Nadal ended a seven-match losing streak against Novak Djokovic in emphatic fashion by thrashing the world number two 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the Madrid Open and move within a step of a third consecutive clay-court title.
The Spaniard, who is renowned for his strict on-court routines, complained about the noise of the rowdy audience at his match, the din amplified by the closed roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium to protect the players from rain.
'Yes, I fall over, but grass sometimes is slippery. Nothing happens. I am good, yeah. Nothing'
'And that was what I missed the most when I saw Nadal play in Delhi, the banter with my mom, because she's gone and I won't get to share that moment with her.' 'Superfan' Roshneesh Kmaneck on watching Rafa in person.
Former World No 1 Rafael Nadal breezed through to the semi-finals of the Mexican Open on Thursday, dispatching Argentine Leonardo Mayer in straight sets 6-1, 7-5.
The Australian fell to the floor in celebration after clinching the victory, before sticking a finger behind his ear and asking the raucous crowd to cheer louder.
German seventh seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to beat former champion Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the Australian Open on Wednesday to reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final. Swiss Wawrinka, who won the first of his three Grand Slams at Melbourne Park in 2014, broke Zverev twice early in the opening set to breeze through the opening set but the 22-year-old German came roaring back into the contest.
Rafael Nadal is no stranger to being out of action for months due to injuries taking a toll on his body but when the Spaniard pulled out from a virtual reality tennis match that would have been contested using a game console - it raised a few eyebrows. The claycourt king had been expected to take on gamer DjMariio as part of a virtual Madrid Open charity event - but ended up being a no show on Monday.
Three-times champion Rafael Nadal pummelled fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco into a 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 submission to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open on Sunday.
'Last year I was one point away to the final. I felt competitive last couple of years, so why do I need to change that?'
'I am playing tennis because I love to play tennis'
It's on! Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are set to clash in the French Open quarterfinal on Wednesday.
Earlier, Ukraine took a 2-0 lead over Japan as world number five Elina Svitolina took the first point of the Billie Jean King Cup era.
Russia's Daniil Medvedev defeated Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Abierto Mexicano tournament in Acapulco on Tuesday to get his quest for the world number one ranking off to a winning start.
Nadal committed 30 unforced errors to Schwartzman's 17 and had his serve broken five times.
So by now we all know what has transpired at Court No 1 in Wimbledon on Monday.
Images from the men's singles quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are determined and inspired by the opportunity to win their first French Open title.
Big serving Berrettini is having a breakout year, with two titles under his belt, one on grass and one on clay, and is now on the brink of becoming the first Italian male grand slam finalist in more than 40 years.
Images from Day 10 of the 2020 French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
All the top three's charitable talk of new challengers ready to end their Grand Slam hegemony at the Australian Open has come to nothing and the top two seeds Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will contest their third consecutive major final on Sunday.
The 32-year-old, who was ousted in the fourth round at the All England Club last year, will play ATP NextGen Finals winner Chung Hyeon on Wednesday and Frenchman Lucas Pouille, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2016, on Friday.
ATP Tour remembered Maradona with a social media post saying "A champion and icon loved by all", accompanied with a picture of Maradona with Federer.
'Obviously Rafa is in great position to finish World No. 1'
Matching Roger Federer's record Grand Slam haul will act as huge motivation for Rafael Nadal
A rampant Rafael Nadal turned on the style to beat old rival Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-3 on Saturday and reach his first Italian Open final since 2014. The top-seeded Spaniard will face defending champion Alexander Zverev who overcame fourth seed Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6(13), 7-5 in the other semi-final.
'You can't be frustrated all the time because the neighbour has a bigger house than you, or a bigger TV or better garden. That's not the way that I see the life, you know'
Rafael Nadal flirted with a shock defeat at the Rome Masters as Novak Djokovic stretched his unbeaten run and Roger Federer eased through on Wednesday.
Nine-times French Open champion Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the French Open on Friday because of a wrist injury.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal remains on course for an 11th Monte Carlo Masters title after beating Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-1 in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic still feels inspired by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the men's world number one tennis player has said, adding that the rivalry between the so-called 'Big Three' is a great promotion for the sport.
Rafael Nadal clinched a record-extending 11th Monte Carlo title as he geared up for his French Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Japan's Kei Nishikori in the final on Sunday.
Top seed Rafael Nadal produced a claycourt masterclass on Saturday to demolish German Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-0 to reach the final of the Barcelona Open.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer believes that Rafael Nadal is still the favourite to win the French Open next month despite the Spaniard's recent struggles to regain form.
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