ATP Finals London: Dominic Thiem shows off his best side
In his last practice before the opening match against Roger Federer (Sunday, 21 clock, live on Sky and ServusTV and in our live ticker) Dominic Thiem can fully convince.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Nov 09, 2019, 06:18 pm
By Jens Huiber from London
With the training times in the O2 Arena is not to be joked. Above all, the center court is a coveted piece of tennis meadow, the units exactly clocked. At 1pm local time, Matteo Berrettini and Daniil Medvedev have to say goodbye, Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal enter the wide circle - in shorts, although the temperatures in the hall seem rather early.
Thiem and Nadal have interrupted their tete-a-tete only briefly, have changed from the smaller training ground to the big one, the Spaniard had thrown over for the short way at least a massive jacket. About the condition of last Saturday still offended abdominal muscle in the Spaniard can only be speculated - at least in any case can be seen restrictions on impact. The slice variant is used disproportionately often, right with speed Nadal will probably open only on Monday.
Nadal seeks blame only on himself
Tomorrow, the world ranking first could actually sit back, maybe watch the first appearance of his training partner Dominic Thiem against Roger Federer (live from 21 clock on Sky and ServusTV). Rest breaks, however, are a missing attribute in the style of Rafael Nadal, in case of doubt he can beat a few balls with coach Carlos Moya. By the way, enjoys a high job security, as Nadal had noted on Friday at the Media Day yet: If he loses a match, and in 2019 saw only slim six times before, then he always seeks the mistake with him. Never with the coach.
Dominic Thiem, on the other hand, showed his best side in the final test before the match against Federer. Lively as never before in this phase of a season, but also with some wit, especially with the backhand slice. Be it as a passing ball or as a stop, which even a very fast Nadal can not reach in training. And of course the Austrian hits at full speed.
Federer trains with Tsitsipas
Which could be the key to a possible fifth success in the seventh match against Federer. Although Thiem tried some high spin balls in training with Nadal, London in the hall is not Indian Wells outdoors. The maestro, on the other hand, has brought in a training partner who, after all, like Thiem, has a one-handed backhand: Stefanos Tsitsipas. But even for the two has been applied: No more minute than prescribed on the court.