ATP Finals 2020: Dominic Thiem after beating Tsitsipas - "Three minutes of fresh air, no sun"
After his opening success against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP Finals 2020, Dominic Thiem took stock of satisfaction. Despite the difficult circumstances, the US Open champion is happy to be able to pursue his profession.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Nov 15, 2020, 07:29 pm
The ATP Finals 2020 are moving very quickly, not just in terms of the game surface. After his opening success against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Dominic Thiem had raised it almost to the same height as a grass pitch in terms of speed. Which is why the slice serve is also particularly suitable as a stylistic device. Thiem had the best experiences in the fifth game of the third set against Tsitsipas, freed himself from critical situations. The fact that the Greek lost this service a little in the course of the game may only have been a small piece of the mosaic for Thiem's successful final revenge.
The players were also in a hurry after the match: Stefanos Tsitispas had already participated in the virtual press room, when Thiem was still packing his things. To pin an entire match at one point would be negligent, but the point at 5: 6 from Tsitsipas' point of view in the tie-break of the first set was at least worth remembering. Thiem was just able to get a ball from his opponent over the net, the equalization of Tsitsipas was purely a matter of form. One thought. Tsitsipas played the ball into the racket for Thiem, lost the rally and the set.
Thiem against winner between Rublev and Nadal
Dominic Thiem, otherwise a walking encyclopedia in terms of the course of the game, could not remember exactly the sequence of strokes. Just the consequence. And that was just the win of sentence one. Not much has been won for Thiem yet (except for a decent chunk of prize money and 200 points for the ATP world rankings), and neither is everything lost for Tsitsipas. In 2019 Roger Federer had no chance against Thiem at the start, but made it to the semi-finals with successes against Matteo Berrettini and Novak Djokovic.
Thiem will play on Tuesday against the winner of the game between Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev, that's the procedure of the ATP Finals. A year ago it worked out quite well for the Austrian number one: After the victory against Federer, the epic triumph against Novak Djokovic followed and with it the early entry into the semifinals.
Tsitsipas flawed in the end
With regard to the match against Tsitsipas, Thiem emphasized that the level of last year's final was higher. They would both have acted at the height of their art - almost the entire game. In the opening match of the Finals 2020, unforced errors and heavily played points alternated. The match ball will only be remembered because of its significance for the further course of the tournament.
In any case, Thiem is fit: The game was only the 30th of the year, with so few he has never come to London. Still, it is exhausting, especially in great cities like New York or now in the British capital. Three minutes of fresh air a day, that's the maximum he gets, Thiem continues. And no sun. But that doesn't mean that the US Open champion is not aware of his privileged situation. It is great that the event is taking place.
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