Nadal was brutal coming in to the second set, breaking straight away, and denying Thiem a chance to try and break back immediately, from that point on no quarter was given until Nadal pushed and pressed fir a break to finish with Thiem saving two match points in the process.
That attitude saw him take an early service break to silence the partisan crowd in Madrid, but Nadal was able to break back in the sixth game as Thiem paid for his aggression with too many unforced errors.
Nadal comes to the final with a series of 14 straight wins, in which only 2 assists lost to opponents. I'm playing with a lot of joy.
More of the same-two deuces, a break point, a double fault-came from Djokovic, who seemed to have no answers to his rival. Thiem broke first for a 2-1 lead, blocking a backhand volley that Nadal couldn't track down.
Given his form, I think he can go close and will back him each way to small stakes.
With a victory on Sunday, he would tie Djokovic atop the Masters 1000 titles leaderboard with his 30th crown.
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My concern would be he's attempting more history this week - he's never previously played Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome in the same season, never mind won all four.
Ronaldo could be seen smiling with joy as Nadal closed out the final set and booking his place in the latter stage of the tournament. "I'm not thinking about the race or anything like that", said Nadal. "Let's respect his level right now because it's true that perhaps it's not as high as it used to be, but I'm telling you, it's been a lot of years, and I know because I've been in his skin, being up there every single week, being No. 1 every single week, it's nearly impossible". Tomorrow I'll wake up with joy, and I will want to do things even better. I was expecting to play well.
In Madrid, Rafa confidently overcame the hard tournament grid, defeating Novak Djokovic 6: 2, 6: 4 in the semifinals. "This is the situation right now", assured Nadal.
"I felt comfortable hitting the ball the last few days, physically ready, mentally sharp as well". Nadal's streak is still the longest active streak.
Nadal says he is fit at the moment and still plans on playing Rome, which has already started with the early rounds on Sunday. "I haven't had that feeling in months, so it's great to feel that".
"I was a little bit nervous, to be honest, before the match, because she has a big serve", Halep said. Because I'm not walking perfectly doesn't mean I have an injury. I just try to go for all of them. "That's all", he explained. He did get the better of me in most of the stats, most of the shots. I don't have any problems, any injuries. After his impeccable start to the season, Roger Federer has opted out of clay court tournaments, and would only participate at Roland Garros. I'm playing with a lot of joy.
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