Thiem beats Nadal, Zverev knocks out Wawrinka as 'youngsters' power into semis

Well, that's what can happen when you meet a highly-ranked player. No matter if you're in the top 3, you can still lose. Nadal was never going to have it easy toward the final. Too many good players on the way there.

Much love and respect to Nadal, but Thiem is my favorite of the new generation. He won me over at last year's French. Guy plays with a lot of skill and a ton of heart. He gets very little press compared to others in the next wave of players, but I think that'll end soon enough.

I believe Thiem's record against the Big Three is something amazing like 7-2

Without the rivalry with Nadal, Federer should have retired when he won more grand slams than Pete Sampras. Then, Djokovic joined the race and because of their competitions are so intense, these players have raised the tennis standard to a an unprecedented level staving off the younger generation's opportunity. I wish Thiem would win this grand slam.