NEW YORK, September 5, 2018 (News Wires) - Rafa Nadal prevailed in a thrilling US Open quarter-final against Dominic Thiem, winning 0-6 6-4 7-5 6-7(4) 7-6(5) over four hours and 49 minutes. Serena Williams fought back from a break down in the first set to beat Czech eighth seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-3 and reach the semi-finals of the US Open in suffocating conditions. The longest match of the US Open so far saw top seed Nadal comprehensively beaten in the opening set, before showing all his immense reserves of fight and spirit to knock out the ninth seed. Nadal will face third seed Juan Martin Del Potro in the first of the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows. Twenty-four hours after Roger Federer fell to John Millman, his old rival avoided following him out of the tournament, but only just. Ninth seed Thiem became the first player since Andy Roddick in 2004 to win a love set against Nadal in New York but the defending champion once again dug deep to come out on top of a gruelling battle played in more punishing humidity. Remarkably, Thiem was the first top-20 player Nadal has faced at Flushing Meadows since his final win over Novak Djokovic in 2013, with last year's title seeing him take on a succession of unexpected opponents. And Thiem, the only man to beat Nadal on clay for the last two seasons, set about showing his opponent he meant serious business in his first Grand Glam quarter-final outside of the French Open. The Austrian blasted 13 winners, made only two unforced errors and allowed Nadal just seven points in winning an extraordinary opening set. It was only the fourth time in his long Grand Slam history that Nadal had lost a set 6-0 and just the third time at any level in nearly seven years. But the last time, against Philipp Kohlschreiber in Miami last spring, he fought back to win the match. Nadal's ability to look only forward and forget what went before is one of his most important strengths and he set about turning around the match, closing in on the baseline, forcing Thiem to play one more ball and, eventually, to go for too much. The Spaniard secured the break he wanted for 5-3 only to give it back but a sloppy game from Thiem, who turned 25 on Monday, handed him the set anyway. The momentum was with Nadal but Thiem regrouped in the third set and began to again blast winners into the corners. But, as in the second set, when the time came to keep his foot on Nadal's throat, he instead loosened the pressure and lived to regret it. Thiem was broken serving for the set and then could not hold on for the tie-break, saving two set points but not a third after planting a volley wide with the whole of the court available. The fourth set was a wild 81-minute ride that began with Thiem facing break points, saw the Austrian threaten a double break before being pegged back and then a weary Nadal miss a chance to win the match. With Thiem serving at 5-6 30-30, a desperate lunging forehand looked to be easy pickings for Nadal at the net only for the 32-year-old to net it. Thiem held on for the tie-break, where another unexpected Nadal error, this time a short forehand into the net, sent the match into a deciding set. The 36-year-old, Serena, who is bidding for a record seventh title at Flushing Meadows as well her 24th career Grand Slam crown, started sluggishly at the Arthur Ashe Stadium , allowing Pliskova to take a 3-1 lead in the opening set. With the heat rule in effect and junior matches on the outside courts suspended earlier in the day, Williams made 22 unforced errors in the opening set but showed all of her big-match pedigree to battle back and close out the set by winning the last four games. "The crowd was really rooting for me and I felt so bad because everyone out here was cheering and I wasn't winning so I thought I had to try harder," Williams said courtside. The second set was far more comfortable for the number 17 seed. Two successive breaks of serve allowed Williams to win her eighth game in a row and open up a 4-0 lead, and she saw off a brief fightback from Pliskova before sending down her 13th ace to seal the match in one hour and 26 minutes. "When I get to a Grand Slam, I feel I want to play really hard. I want to do really well. I love this game so maybe that's why," added Williams, who was beaten by Pliskova in the 2016 semi-finals. Next up for the American is a semi-final clash with 19th seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
