Monte Carlo Masters 2018 quarter-final live stream: Watch Nadal vs Thiem online

10-time champion Nadal faces Djokovic-slayer Thiem in the quarter-final Friday. Here's how you can watch Monte Carlo Masters live on TV and online.

Top seed Rafael Nadal takes on fifth seed Dominic Thiem in the men's singles quarter-final of Monte Carlo Masters on Friday, April 20.

How and when to watch Nadal vs Thiem, Monte Carlo Masters quarter-final on TV, online

The last-eight match will not start before 3:50pm IST, 11:20am BST and 12:20pm local time. Sony ESPN will provide live telecast of the tie in India. Click here for live stream of Monte Carlo Masters matches.

Preview

Nadal starts as the favorite, considering he has reached at least the quarter-final in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament for 14 years in a row now.

However, Thiem, the clay-court specialist, will be looking forward to providing a stiff challenge to the world number one.

Notably, Nadal and Thiem have met seven times and all those clashes have come on clay. They played four matches against each other last year, with the Spaniard winning three of them, including the semi-final of French Open.

However, Thiem was the only player to have defeated Nadal on the red dirt last season as he had stunned the 16-time Grand Slam champion in the quarter-final of Madrid Masters.

Nadal is not willing to take Thiem lightly ahead of Friday's clash and rightfully so.

The Austrian is heading into the match on the back of a three-set win over Novak Djokovic in the Thursday's Round of 16 encounters. The world number seven conceded the first set to the two-time champion but came back strong to clinch the match 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-3.

Nadal ready for an aggressive approach

"It is going to be a difficult match. He [Thiem] is a player that plays so good on every surface, but especially on clay," Nadal was quoted as saying by ATP's official website.

He added: "I can't let him play from good positions because he has lot of power and it will be so difficult to control him if he is in an advantaged position. I need to take care of that. I need to play aggressive, with higher intensity than him."

Nadal is heading into the match after decimating Karen Khachanov in straight games. The 10-time champion, who has not dropped a set yet, faces a tough test but a win will give him the much-needed confidence to dominate the clay-court swing, especially after the early-season injury woes.