Dominic Thiem [left] reacts after beating Rafael Nadal [Source: Essentially Sports]

Rafael Nadal is out of the Australian Open after being beaten by Dominic Thiem 7-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 in Melbourne.

It is also the first time Thiem will feature in the Australian Open semi-finals.

The Austrian had never beaten Nadal at the Grand Slams but he went toe-to-toe with the world No 1 and won the opening two sets in tiebreaks.

The third set went with serve until Nadal capitalised on a poor service game from Thiem to give himself a lifeline.

Thiem recovered his composure to lead Nadal by a break in the fifth set but he was broken when serving for the match.

In a resulting tiebreak, Thiem had match points at 4-6 and put a mid-court forehand into the net but he finally earned the win when Nadal put a forehand into the net.

[Source: The Express]