ATP Finals London: Dominic Thiem - "Everyone likes to play Roger Federer"
Two days left, then begin the ATP Finals 2019 with the hit between Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem (Sunday from 21 clock live on Sky and ServusTV). The Austrian number one is looking forward to it.
by Huiber, army
last edit: Nov 08, 2019, 03:39 pm
By Jens Huiber and Florian Heer from London
Dominic Thiem competently won the Media Day at the ATP Finals in London. With his fourth participation, the 26-year-old Austrian is almost a veteran. Thiem had taken on stage between Roger Federer and Matteo Berrettini, Novak Djokovic completed the group Björn Borg.
After the international part of the press conference, Thiem also took time for a few questions from tennisnet before the afternoon session with Stefanos Tsitsipas.
tennisnet : Mr. Thiem: We saw Alexander Zverev at the Chelsea FC on Tuesday night, but not you. What went wrong?
Dominic Thiem : A lot. That was so stupid. I thought on Wednesday when I arrived, why did not I fly on Tuesday. That was a misfire. But I looked at it on TV, the mood was good. Maybe they won with me, but that's ok.
tennisnet: There was a time when you played against Zverev almost every week. Now the last match is a year and a half back. It was at the French Open 2018. Are you worried about it?
Thiem : That's funny, too. And I think it's a shame, because we have always had great matches. But there will come again times when we often play against each other. Back then, it was not the case that we either were seated or just one of us. So we were more likely to play against each other sooner. Now we are at three, four or five in most of the tournaments we play together, which means we have to reach the semi-finals already.
tennisnet : Roger Federer has just mentioned that the surface here should be rather fast. How do you feel about that?
Thiem : It's really quick. I'd say a midway thing from Paris-Bercy, where it was a lot faster, and Vienna. It is still relatively fair to play. So it's easy in the hall.
tennisnet : Your dad recently said that you really like playing Roger Federer. Why?
Thiem : Because everyone likes to play against Roger.
tennisnet : But you win more often than you lose. 2019 you have a 2: 0 balance ...
Thiem : But there is always a portion of luck to the victories, such as defended match balls. And of course it's a bit easier on sand or in Indian Wells. Because there the pads take on my spin super. The best tactic against Roger is to act with extreme spin balls on the backhand. That's the only situation he can not immediately hit. But this is much harder, of course. First, the spin is not so accepted, secondly, because the surface is faster, I'm not in the situation to raise my game. But I'll see that I'm well-versed in my game, which I've been developing since the US Open.
tennisnet : Last year you reached the semi-finals in Paris-Bercy before London. This year the exhausting week played in Vienna. How do you feel compared to 2018?
Thiem : Better. In Paris, it was not bad, even if the tank was still a bit empty because of Vienna. In general, I feel pretty good, yesterday I was able to train here and before in Vienna. And I do not think that anyone at the end of the year still trains like a madman as in the offseason. Everyone looks that they are fully present at the match. And that's the same with me. And that's where experience helps.
tennisnet : Could you at least celebrate your tournament victory in Vienna? In Kitzbühel there is no time for that.
Thiem : I did not celebrate as it really is after such a success. That was a very, very special week. And I was in bed at half past twelve. We had really nice food all in common, but the corks did not bounce. But that will eventually catch up.
tennisnet: Your team is almost completely represented here in London. Will her friend Kristina Maldenovic join as well?
Thiem : She has to get the Fed Cup to France, which is in Australia completely at the other end of the world. It's done on Sunday. Then let's see.
tennisnet: Looking back, the highlights of the year were?
Thiem : Already the two home tournaments. I would put that over everything. Kitzbühel from the Emotional, because it was the first victory at home. And Vienna just as emotional. And still in combination with the fact that the tournament was really strong. And I have shown really strong performances, even after sentence arrears. And of course the 1000 title was also a great thing, because I'm glad that I have the bag. I hope I'll eventually win a Grand Slam title, and then it's good.