ATP Finals: "You have to calm down" - Medvedev remembers his first meeting with Dominic Thiem
You last met not long ago, but how did the first go? Daniil Medvedev remembers his first Dominic Thiem moment - and a clear smack.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Nov 22, 2020, 03:17 pm
Their last meeting: it was at the US Open, in the semi-finals. The winner: Dominic Thiem, who shortly afterwards set out to win his first Grand Slam title. In this strange final against Alexander Zverev.
But when did the first game between Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev take place? Medvedev still knew exactly when he was asked about it in the press conference on Saturday evening. That was in Umag, the man from Russia reminisced. It was his first major tournament as a 14-year-old with the U18s. And Thiem: already "a superstar among the juniors" who had stood in the final of the junior tournament in Roland Garros. That Thiem showed up in Umag? "A surprise for everyone."
Medvedev as a junior: Dazed ten times worse
Medvedev recalled that he was the last one to slip into the main field, and it was his dream to get a lucky loser or wildcard player to kick off - and then Thiem. That is exactly what happened. In round 1 he played "against Marin Cilic's nephew or something", then against Thiem. "On sand. He destroyed me, 2: 6, 0: 6, I think. And if I'm not mistaken, I made a tweener."
He didn't really think about it anymore, but Thiem once reminded him of the game in an interview. Medvedev went on to say that he was acting crazy on the pitch at that time, "ten times worse than today."
After the game, Thiem said to him: "You have a good future ahead of you, but you have to calm down. Because I went nuts back then."
Medvedev on Thiem finals: "Will be great tennis"
It was 2011, in September - around nine years before the last duel at the US Open 2020. It is now 3: 1 in the balance sheet for Thiem against Medvedev, who only won against Thiem in Montreal in 2019, which was flat (6: 3, 6: 1). At the US Open a few weeks ago, Thiem was 6: 3, 7: 6 (7), 7: 6 (5) at the end. "That was tight, except in the first set, where he played great and destroyed me," said Medvedev. "I also had a short meltdown, that cost my concentration." Bitter: He had already opened the second and third sentence, "Something like that might be a little easier in the hall."
Incidentally, they trained together twice in London because they weren't in the same group. "They were tight points, tight games," said Medvedev, who is expecting a lot for the final: "I think this will be great tennis."
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