Rafael Nadal is an inspiration and role model for Dominic Thiem. The Spaniard was an idol for the 24-year-old already many years ago. 'The earliest memories I think was when he beat Roger (Federer) in the French semis in 2005.

I was 11 back then', Thiem recalled. 'Didn't really think that I would also play him one day, but it's very nice (smiling).' Thiem admires Nadal for one particular thing: 'I think nobody's game really matches up well with his.

That's why he's so unbelievably successful. No matter what, it's always really tough to play against him.' Commenting on the keys that brought him to beat Nadal at 2016 Buenos Aires and this year's Madrid, Thiem added: 'That I was really aggressive.

I think that I have very powerful ground strokes, and I can even hurt him with them. But the key is to play really fast and powerful. But at the same time, not make too many mistakes. Yeah, I did it sometimes against him, but it's a risky game style also because it can happen that I make too many mistakes and then it looks black.' Speaking about his win over Kevin Anderson, Thiem said: 'First of all, I served really, really well today.

Not the best percentage, but I almost made every point in the first serve game. So I didn't face one break point, and I didn't feel so much pressure on service games. So it was a little bit easier to play the return games.

I could change my return position, and this helped me a lot. And also the court, I think, made a big difference. It's a huge court. I could go very far back like I do on clay usually. So there were some good advantages for me today.' ALSO READ: Mats Wilander explains why Rafael Nadal didn't play great vs Khachanov