Barcelona Open: Rafael Nadal denied ATP record by Dominic Thiem

Nadal had been hoping to win the event for a 12th time

Rafael Nadal's hopes of extending his own record by winning an ATP tournament for the 12th time were ended when he was beaten by Dominic Thiem in the Barcelona Open semi-finals.

Nadal has triumphed in Barcelona 11 times, a mark he has also hit at the French Open and Monte Carlo Masters.

But his hopes of adding to his record ended in a 6-4 6-4 loss to Thiem, who he beat in the 2017 Barcelona final.

The Austrian will meet 23-year-old Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's final.

Had Nadal won against Thiem he would have had the opportunity to match Martina Navratilova's professional tournament record of winning 12 times at the now-defunct Avon Championships of Chicago.

The 32-year-old had appeared on course to win the Barcelona Open for the fourth time in succession - he went into the match having won 46 of the 47 sets he had played in the tournament's final two rounds.

Instead 25-year-old Thiem, who lost to Nadal in a one-sided French Open final last year, will have the opportunity to win a second title of the year having beaten Roger Federer in the final at Indian Wells last month.

Russian Medvedev beat fourth seed Kei Nishikori 6-4 3-6 7-5 in their semi-final on Saturday.