MADRID: Rafael Nadal suffered his first clay-court defeat in almost a year when the world number one was shocked 7-5, 6-3 by Austria´s Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Masters quarter-finals on Friday.
Defending champion Nadal, who came into the tournament having won his 11th titles at Monte Carlo and at Barcelona, also saw his record 50-set winning streak on clay ended by the fifth-seeded Thiem.
Thiem had been the last player to defeat Nadal on clay at the Italian Open in Rome almost 12 months ago.
The shock result also means that Roger Federer will reclaim the world number one ranking on Monday.