ATP Cup: Dominic Thiem is clearly defeated by Matteo Berrettini - the decision between Austria and Italy is made in doubles
Dominic Thiem missed making the early decision against Italy. The 27-year-old was clearly defeated by Matteo Berrettini 2: 6 and 4: 6. ( Here you can read the game in our live ticker ). So everything is still open before the all-important double.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Feb 02, 2021, 03:10 am
After Dennis Novak had brought the Austrian team 1-0 lead in the ATP Cup duel against Italy , it was up to Dominic Thiem to achieve the opening success in the second edition of the team competition. Opposite him was Matteo Berrettini, who won the most recent clash against Lichtenwörther at the ATP Finals 2019.
In the John Cain Arena both players dominated with their own serve, before Berrettini managed the first break to 3-2. It was the start of a sensational phase for the Italian, which Thiem only knew how to end in the fifth game of the second set, at least on the scoreboard - at this point it was already 6: 2 and 4: 1 for the tenth in the world rankings.
Thiem's comeback comes too late
In particular, the serve and his otherwise so powerful baseline game let the reigning US Open winner down until the middle of the second round. In addition, Berrettini played extremely powerful tennis, to which Thiem found better and better answers in his first match of the season with the continuation of the match, but a rebreak to 2: 4 should come a little too late.
Because Berrettini kept his nerve and served after 81 minutes for the 6: 2 and 6: 4 success. So it is now 1: 1 in the international match between Austria and Italy. The decision will therefore be made in doubles. You can now follow this in our live ticker .
Here you can read the game between Thiem and Berrettini in our live ticker