ATP Finals 2020: Stefanos Tsitsipas - "Dominic Thiem should send me Wiener Schnitzel"
Stefanos Tsitsipas was very tidy after his success against Andrey Rublev. Should he receive a bonus from Dominic Thiem because he helped him reach the semi-finals, the Greek has a certain wish.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Nov 18, 2020, 12:25 am
Stefanos Tsitsipas knows his way around narrow defeats in the current season: at the US Open he gave away a whole range of match balls against Borna Coric. A few days later, the Greek served in Hamburg for the tournament victory - and still lost the game against Andrey Rublev. That Rublev, whom he then defeated in Roland Garros in three sets and now in London after defending a match point.
So it works the other way around, Tsitsipas may have thought, who had already shown strong tennis at times at the start against Dominic Thiem. Against Rublev, the defending champion in London created more chances than his opponent over the entire season, but in the end it was the Russian's double mistake that gave the match its final volte.
Tsitsipas successful against Nadal for now
Dominic Thiem has now safely heaved into the semifinals. When asked whether the Austrian should send him a bottle of ouzo as a thank you, Tsitsipas said that he would prefer a plate of Wiener Schnitzel. The 22-year-old still has to earn the playful reward himself: On Thursday it will be against Rafael Nadal, who also made a strong impression against Thiem after his problem-free opening win against Rublev.
The prospects are not too rosy for Tsitsipas: There have been six games against Nadal so far, Tsitsipas has only won one: 2019 in the semi-finals in Madrid. Nadal and Tsitsipas also share common experiences in London, with the veteran being able to prevail in the last group game a year ago. With it, the world number one at the end of the year, but not a place in the semi-finals. Stefanos Tsitsipas, in turn, moved into the semifinals, where he defeated Roger Federer. As in the final Dominic Thiem.
Thiem against Rublev
He is now playing against Andrey Rublev for still substantial prize money and 200 points for the ATP world rankings. Just like in 2019, when Thiem was able to go unencumbered into the last game against Matteo Berrettini after success against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. So unencumbered that the Italian was able to celebrate his maiden win at the finals. Andrey Rublev would like to try this on Thursday as well.
o2arena