If ever two tennis players could be called "gladiators," it was Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem in this 2018 epic. Trading the Colosseum for Arthur Ashe Stadium, both men fired and absorbed blow after blow across five sets and nearly five hours, until only one was left standing at 2:04 a.m.
Playing in his first US Open quarterfinal, Thiem roared out of the gates to take a rare 6-0 set off Nadal. It was no surprise to see Nadal fight back, and he slowly gained control of the match as the night wore on. Then, it was Thiem's turn to battle back.
These gladiators saved the best for last, rewarding the late-night Ashe crowd with a pair of tiebreaks in the fourth and fifth sets.
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