Dominic Thiem has sent World No. 1 Rafael Nadal crashing out of the Australian Open.

It took some time, and plenty of botched chances but the Austrian heavy-hitter managed to get it done in four-sets in a thrilling encounter on Rod Laver Arena.

In a 4hr 10m war of attrition, the pair slugged it out with Thiem eventually getting the better of the 19-time grand slam champion 7-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 and setting up a semifinal clash against Alexander Zverev.

“I think the match was on a great level i think we were both on great form,” Thiem said after the match.

“We already had an epic match in new york two years ago and today I was really feeling the luck was in my situation. But it’s necessary because he’s obviously one of the greatest of all time one of the best this sport has ever had.

Thiem had a golden opportunity to close it out serving for the match at 5-4 in the fourth but faltered shockingly under pressure.

“Such a mentally tough situation I couldn’t handle it but i turned it around in the tiebreaker,” he said of the moment.

“It’s a little bit demons in the head, its true for me. I was just rushing way too much, changing the tactics from the whole match

“Thats tennis but you have to deal with these situations almost every single game.”