On Sunday evening Rafael Nadal will play Dominic Thiem in the final at the Madrid Open. The Spaniard has dropped only one set in the entire tournament and is bidding to clinch a 15 consecutive win on the clay this season. The encounter could become an historic day for both men with a series of milestones at stake.
Record 30th Masters 1000 title looms
Rafael Nadal will be bidding to win his 30th Masters 1000 title to level Novak Djokovic’s all-time record. The final in Madrid this year is the 45th Masters of his career. Since winning his first title at the 2005 Monte Carlo championships, Nadal has won at least one trophy every year.
List of Masters titles
German Open – 2008 champion
Cincinnati Open – 2013 champion
Canadian Open – three-time champion
Indian Wells Masters – three-time champion
Madrid Open – Four-time champion
Italian Open – seven-time champion
Monte-Carlo Masters – 10-time champion
Record fifth title
As well as the Masters milestone at stake, Nadal could also become the first man to win five titles at the Caja Magica. So far the Spaniard has won 46 out of 56 matches played in Madrid since 2003. He has won the title in 2005, 2010, 2013 and 2014.
Roger Federer (3), Novak Djokovic (2) and Andy Murray (2) are the only other players to win multiple titles in the tournament.
Thiem could be the youngest-ever winner
At the age of 23, Dominic Thiem has the potential to become the first player born after 1988 to win a Masters 1000, ATP Finals or a grand slam title. He is already the youngest Masters finalist since Milos Raonic at the 2013 Montreal Open. If he wins, he will be the youngest since Andy Murray at the 2010 Shanghai Open.
Nadal’s top-10 record
Nadal is aiming for a 147th top-10 win in Madrid. In the tournament he has already defeated nine top-10 players throughout his career. This season he has recorded wins over Novak Djokovic, David Goffin, Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils. He also recently defeated Thiem at the Barcelona Open.
Thiem’s double desire
Despite being the underdog in the final, Dominic Thiem has defeated Nadal once before. At the 2016 Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, the Austrian saved match point to triumph 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4), after two hours and 50 minutes of play.
Furthermore, this week at the Madrid Open Thiem has converted more break points (43% to 36%) and won 89% of his service games compared to Nadal’s 86%.
Thiem Vs Nadal (2016 Argentina Open)
