ATP Doha: Dominic Thiem before the opening duel with Aslan Karatsev - "In every tournament, victory is almost the only thing that counts"
Dominic Thiem gets to do with Aslan Karatsev ( Wednesday, from 2 p.m. on the Tennisnet ticker ) at the start of the ATP 250 tournament in Doha. The game against the Russian should only be the beginning of a successful run in the capital of Qatar - because for the fourth in the world ranking only the title counts since his victory at the US Open.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Mar 09, 2021, 07:01 pm
The trip to Australia should n't really pay off for Dominic Thiem despite the interim highlight against Nick Kyrgios. At the ATP Cup, the Lichtenwörther completed a less than ideal preparation against Matteo Berrettini (straight defeat) and Benoit Paire (where victory), at the Australian Open he was already in the round of 16 against Grigor Dimitrov.
"It took me a while to digest the whole thing. The whole trip was exhausting in Australia with quarantine. It was a very strange trip," admitted Thiem, looking back at the beginning of the season. He had set himself much higher goals before the Australian Open: "That makes the whole thing very difficult, of course. I left Australia with a really bad and sad feeling because I lost in the fourth round."
Thiem struggles with expectations
The less successful trip to Down Under has now been ticked off, according to Thiem. After all, the next item in the program of the year awaits the Austrian this week with the ATP 250 tournament in Doha. The fact that he is in first place in the capital Qatar does not necessarily suit Thiem: "I'm a little different from the very young players who were always used to being the favorite at every tournament from a really young age. I'm slower in this role I didn't do that very well in Australia, but luckily the next chance comes now and in tennis in general almost every week. "
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With the event in Doha, the last phase of the first quarter of the season begins for Thiem, in which the 27-year-old will then end up in Dubai and Miami: "Doha is a good chance to gain confidence. It will be one of the last tournaments on hardcourt . That's why I want to do well there and hope that I get a reasonably good start on Wednesday. "
Thiem is looking forward to Federer's comeback
This will also be necessary, because with Aslan Karatsev, this year's Australian Open semi-finalist is waiting in round two. But in view of his top seed status, the Russian should only be an intermediate hurdle for Thiem on the way to the title: "The expectations of myself have already changed, especially after winning the US Open. It just counts in every tournament in which I compete, almost only victory. "
Thiem may even benefit from the fact that Roger Federer has attracted almost all of the media attention due to his comeback after a one-year break from competitions. What does the world number four say about the return of the Swiss? "I think everyone loves to see him play tennis. Even me, who is actually a rival of his."
Here you can follow the match between Thiem and Karatsev in the live ticker
Here the single tableau in Doha