Rafael Nadal on Friday suffered a shock 7-5 6-3 defeat in the hands of Austrian Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
With this result, the Spaniard will lose the world number one position in the ATP ranking.
Thiem, who lost to Nadal in the Monte Carlo quarter-finals last month, was the last player to beat the Spaniard on clay, at last year’s Rome Masters.
The 24-year-old broke Nadal’s serve five times before sealing victory with a powerful cross-court winner in just under two hours.
He will next take on South African Kevin Anderson in the semi-finals on Saturday.
