ATP Cup: Thiem against favorite opponents and stable colleagues
The draw for the ATP Cup brought Austria meetings with France and Italy. At least for the top singles, that's not bad news. Dominic Thiem meets Gael Monfils and Matteo Berrettini .
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jan 22, 2021, 08:57 am
There are no little ones at the ATP Cup. At least not when it comes to the top players from the participating nations. This is anchored in the qualification criteria for the team competition introduced in 2020, the top-ranked player in the ATP charts is decisive for whether a nation is allowed to participate. In the case of Austria with Dominic Thiem as the current number three in the world, there was no doubt about the eligibility to play, the red-white-red team was set from the start.
So now it has become France and Italy. And for Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils and Matteo Berrettini. The former is never inconvenient for Thiem, in the previous six matches against the French number one, the Austrian has always left the field as the winner. Monfils had started the year 2020 strongly, almost defeating Novak Djokovic for the first time in Dubai, but after the Corona break missed a bit of the big bite. Small piquancy on the side: According to reports, the Frenchman exchanged ideas with Thiem's ex-coach Günter Bresnik quite intensively during the preparation.
Thiem with a balanced record against Berrettini
Dominic Thiem's balance sheet is balanced against Matteo Berrettini. There were three duels in 2019, Thiem won what, in his opinion, was certainly the most important in the semifinals of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. Overall the score is 2: 2. Berrettini already tried his hand at the ATP tour in 2021, but had to admit defeat to Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals in Antalya. Thiem and Berrettini only crossed arms at an exhibition match in Berlin last season, the Austrian narrowly prevailed on grass. The agreement between the two is good, so the Italian was also a guest at Thiem's 7 in Kitzbühel. Probably not just because Matteo Berrettini, like Thiem, is under contract with Red Bull.
But Dennis Novak , Austria's number two, also had two exciting tasks. Novak has to play against Benoit Paire and Fabio Fognini . So two players who, with all their ingenuity, let one or the other match run. Although not in team competitions. Paire just delivered two treats at the premiere of the ATP Cup 2020: Against Dusan Lajovic, he scored a point for France after a rollercoaster ride, against Kevin Anderson Paire lost in the tiebreak of the fifth set.