ATP Finals 2020: Dominic Thiem - into the finals in the style of a boxer
Dominic Thiem is in the final of the ATP Finals after an "epic" three-set win against Novak Djokovic . This victory is primarily due to the mental masterpiece of the Austrian.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Nov 21, 2020, 08:25 pm
It is well known that Dominic Thiem has been one of the greats of the tennis scene since this year at the latest. Mentally, this should have been done almost automatically after the long-awaited first Grand Slam title, as planned, but in the tie-break of the second set against Novak Djokovic, the Austrian showed that the US Open triumph did not necessarily make things easier.
Thiem was still powerless at the first match point, he sprinkled a double fault on the second: "I'm not supposed to say that, but I almost knew that I would make a double fault. I was shaking all over my body before the second serve," he said 27-year-old at the press conference for the record.
Thiem takes every setback
After two more match balls were awarded, Djokovic sent the game into a third round - a setback that hardly any other player apart from Thiem would have taken. But the Austrian stayed tuned and played his way into a tie-break relatively easily. In this, the usually merciless world number one quickly took the lead 4-0. The bitter end to an incredible season seemed inevitable.
But in the style of a boxer, Thiem also took this powerful blow from Djokovic, got six points in a row and a little later used his sixth match point to 7: 5, 6: 7 (10), 7: 6 (5) victory. A victory that once again showed that Thiem has now also arrived mentally in the concert of the greats.
"Coming back from 0: 4 in the tie-break of the third set against Djokovic - nobody else on the tour can do that. Nobody," was read on social media after the match. A statement that can hardly be countered. Even Djokovic said he hadn't gambled away the clear lead, instead Thiem just unpacked "surreal" tennis.
"I hit every ball and hit everything," said Thiem about these incredible last minutes of the tennis battle. "But it was also lucky," said the world number three. Happiness. With this word, the 27-year-old had already described winning the first tiebreak against Rafael Nadal.
Thiem in the final against Nadal or Medvedev
But luck is always at some point, as the saying goes. And that's exactly what Dominic Thiem does. The Lichtenwörther is now possibly the most complete and therefore also the best player on the tour - the attack on the tennis throne therefore seems only a matter of time. He hadn't really thought about it yet, but "number one will certainly come into play, that's very clear. But somehow they are always connected anyway. The biggest goal will always be to play well at the big tournaments."
The ATP Finals are definitely a big tournament. A triumph in London would be another milestone in Dominic Thiem's career. It is clear that the US Open champion will also have to show his entire repertoire in the final against Rafael Nadal or Daniil Medvedev ( from 9:00 p.m. on the Tennisnet live ticker ). And will eventually need his taker qualities again.
Here you can read the match between Thiem and Djokovic in the ticker!
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