US Open: 5 best men's singles matches in the last 10 years

#2 2018 Quarterfinal: Nadal beats Thiem 0-6 6-4 7-5 6-7(4) 7-6(5)

Nadal embraces Thiem after an epic quarterfinal battle

In one of the best hardcourt matches of his career, Dominic Thiem burst out the blocks by bagelling Rafael Nadal to take the opening set in 24 minutes. It was Nadal's first 0-6 set at the US Open in 14 years since a second-round defeat to Andy Roddick in 2004.

But as the match progressed, Thiem's intensity dropped and Nadal responded with two breaks of the Austrian's serve, squaring the match at a set-apiece.

Nadal took the third set 7-5 and was a tiebreak away from taking the match but Thiem dug deep to force a decider.

The Austrian saved three successive breakpoints at 5-5 in the fifth as a deciding set tiebreaker ensued. Both players remained solid on serve and at 5-5 in the tiebreak, both players were two points away from victory.

It was Nadal who arrived at match-point first and converted the opportunity when Thiem fired an overhead long to end a gladiatorial 4-hour 49-minute battle. The defending champion lived to fight another day on a night when his opponent won six more points than him.