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World No. 5 Austrian Dominic Thiem produced a cracker of a performance against Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, forcing the Spaniard out as Thiem reached his first semi-finals at Melbourne. Alexander Zverev, a pleasantly surprising debutant semi-finalist at a Grand Slam, is also looking to make it big as he battled his way from a set down against Stan Wawrinka to book himself a spot.
The clash between Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem promises to be a charged, high-energy affair with two young blooded NextGen players aspiring to make it to their first final in Australia. Both players occasionally display signs of greatness but neither of them succeeds in sustaining it, which becomes the crucial challenge. However, if we are to judge by Dominic Thiem's brutally powerful performance against 19-time Grand Slam Champion, Rafael Nadal, then we can predict that the Austrian has a bright future ahead. It is never an easy task to make Nadal appear as the weaker player in any match but Dominic Thiem did that exactly as he took the Spaniard down, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, in a high octane match.
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The 22-year-old Alexander Zverev has also been brilliant in this tournament and has been continuously surprising himself with every match. Against 3-time Grand Slam champion, Stan Wawrinka, Zverev proved to be extremely efficient and won the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to finally make it to his maiden Grand Slam semi-final.
Coming into this match, Dominic Thiem enjoys a 6-2 head to head lead over Zverev and has dominated the German almost always. But in the spirit of surprising himself, Zverev might just surprise the Austrian too, however the chances of that seem very slim given the rock-solid form Thiem has displayed against Nadal. Eventually, it is the challenge of seven-time Australian Open Champion, Novak Djokovic that awaits. It remains to be seen who of the two will become a first-time finalist at the Australian Open and meet Djokovic for a shot at the crown.
Here's all you need to know about the Australian Open 2020
Date: January 20 - February 2, 2020
Category: Grand Slam
Location: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Surface: Hardcourt
Prize Money: A$ 71,000,000
Time: [5] Dominic Thiem vs [7] Alexander Zverev on Rod Laver Arena at approx 2:00 PM IST on 31 January 2020
Where to watch Australian Open 2020?
USA - ESPN and ESPN2
UK and Europe - Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2, Eurosport 1 HD and Eurosport 2 HD
India - Sony Six, Sony Ten 2, Sony Six HD and Sony Ten 2 HD, Sony Ten 3 (matches with Hindi commentary)
Live streaming details for Australian Open 2020
Australian Open 2020 live stream is available on Tennis TV (a subscription is needed for the service).
The matches can be streamed live on SonyLiv also.
For regular updates and match highlights, stay tuned to the Australian Open TV.
Follow Sportskeeda to get the full Australian Open 2020 Schedule, Australian Open 2020 Results, Australian Open Winners, latest news & updates.
