Dominic Thiem calls out Novak Djokovic after Roger Federer win at Madrid Open

Thiem came from a set down and saved two match points to book his place in the semi-finals.

The Austrian will meet world No 1 Djokovic in the next round after the Serbian was handed a bye when Marin Cilic withdrew from the tournament with food poisoning.

Thiem has beaten Djokovic in their last two meetings on clay.

But that was before the 15-time Grand Slam winner made a remarkable recovery from an elbow injury.

“I think it was a different world back then,” Thiem said.

“Now he is back on top and back at his best.

“I am ready to face this challenge now but this tournament is really tough.

“I have beaten three amazing players to face Novak in the semi-finals.

“I will rest nice tonight and then give everything tomorrow.”

Thiem had to remain extremely focussed against Federer as he scored 13 points in the second-set tiebreak before dominating the final set.

The No 5 seed in Madrid struggled with his tactics early on but eventually ground out the win.

“I tried to stay aggressive but I didn’t have many things on my mind,” he added.

“I wanted to save the match points of course that helped me a lot.

“I am just lucky and happy that I saved them or else there wouldn’t have been a third set.”

source: express.co.uk