ATP Beijing: Dominic Thiem wins thrilling duel against Andy Murray after a short blackout
Dominic Thiem has won the sometimes high-class quarter-final against Andy Murray. Thiem won 6: 2, 7: 6 (3) and is thus in the semi-finals.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Oct 04, 2019, 11:10 am
In the very first game there was a foretaste of what was to follow in the minutes that followed. There were four debuts when the Scotsman served, which Thiem ultimately broke through. A 0: 2 and 0:30, after eight points from Thiem in a row, Murray turned with a fine net action.
Long, tactically very interesting rallies determined the initial phase. Thiem played aggressively and strongly, Murray always showed overview and good anticipation, played cleverly against the run several times, which then frustrated the Lichtenwörther.
Only at the second break for Thiem to 5: 2 did the level drop briefly. Thiem initially awarded four set balls after he acted a little too wildly, but ended up hitting a butterfly ball exactly in Murray's run, which defended again. Number five was finally in the lead, the 6: 2 sounds much less spectacular than it really was.
Here you can read the match in the live ticker.
Thiem with three double errors when serving
Run two opened Thiem with a bit of luck at the breakball, the net was here on his side, the ball, however, tumbled on that of Murray. There were no more chances to break, but Thiem transported his lead confidently and with a lot of power. When serving at 5: 4, Thiem suddenly made three double errors at 15:40, too long a forehand brought the Scots 5: 5.
However, Thiem was back in the tie-break, a backhand return to the baseline brought him the first mini-break, after which he continued to play aggressively towards the end.
Murray had just had his first individual win after his hip operation last week (against Tennys Sandgren), this week he went on to win with victories over Matteo Berrettini (number 13 in the world) and compatriot Cameron Norrie in Beijing. The game against Thiem should give him further impetus.
Thiem, on the other hand, continued his aggressive game direction this week - sometimes too wild, but in the end just right. At the beginning of the week, the 26-year-old had once again mentioned that he was perfectly well, that the training sessions as part of the Laver Cup two weeks ago would have helped him to move forward playfully.
Thiem and Murray with more winners than mistakes
Against Murray impressive: the power - and the first serves, if they came. Thiem then made the point 87 percent of the time. With the second service, however, it was only 33 percent.
How good the match was can also be seen in the number of winners and mistakes without need, both with Thiem and Murray they were in the positive range: Thiem scored 35 winning strikes with 16 unforced mistakes, with Murray the balance was 29 to 22.
Thiem faces Karen Khachanov in the semifinals, who previously beat Fabio Fognini 3: 6, 6: 3, 6: 1.