Auftaktcoup at the ATP Finals against Federer: Thiem announces himself again as successor of the Big Three to speak
Dominic Thiem's success over Roger Federer at the ATP Finals shows once again how much the Austrian has gained in profile in 2019.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Nov 11, 2019, 03:19 pm
Anyone who competes against Roger Federer in the London 02 arena does not only play against the old master himself, but also against many thousands of little Federers in the stands, iron-filled, sworn Federer fans. Victory points of the Swiss are euphorically acclaimed by the fanbase Federers, as well as minor or major errors of each Federer opponent.
Dominic Thiem had therefore under no circumstances understated, as he found before the Sunday game against the 38-year-old Granden, against Federer must "everything, almost everything fit" for a moment of success. But that's exactly how it came on the first day of the tennis world championship: almost everything was right with Thiem, in the important moments he was wide awake, courageous and courageous. His 7: 5, 7: 5 victory over Federer was no longer a surprise, least of all for Federer himself. "If you are not against Dominic, you lose against him," said Federer, "he is a great player. "
Federer now with his back to the wall
Sometimes, however, it seems that the tennis public and sports fans need to be reminded once again: What a marvelous development the 26-year-old Austrian's career has taken, how close he is to the greats in the industry, how well, he is currently in a duel with the top people. For Federer, the most successful player of this era, the fifth-ranked Thiem is even something of a foe, meanwhile, the Maestro has lost five out of seven direct comparisons.
The slip-up on Sunday left Federer with little hope of advancing to the World Cup semifinals. To do so, he would probably have to win against Italian Matteo Berrettini and, above all, against frontman Novak Djokovic. Thiem, the longest non-multiple clay court specialist, should have another group win against Berrettini for the semi-finals. "I now want to take full advantage of my opportunity," said Thiem in a TV interview.
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Thiem 2019: From the multiplayer to the quality player
Thiem had lately been a bit off the radar, looking fuzzy between Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and the emerging mid-twenties players - four of them in London, Alexander Zverev, US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev , the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Berrettini.
When Medvedev started a magical winning streak in the summer and made headlines worldwide at the Grand Slam Spectacle in New York, he suddenly seemed to be the new successor to the Big Three - not one like Thiem, who has been at a consistently high level for years Level plays and at least for the fourth time at the World Cup is going to start. "However, many have lost sight of the fact that Thiem is playing the best season of his career," said Australian Pat Pat, once Wimbledon champion, "and that he is the natural heir of Nadals on sand." He lost to Nadal in the French Open final in early June again, beating in the semi-final Djokovic.
Not to mention: Thiem has already mastered some major challenges in his professional life that are still ahead of the younger ones. In 2019 - not without noise, but without noise and Radau - took place the separation process of the long-time foster father Günter Bresnik, a long time unimaginable act. From the prolific player who took everywhere and without pause, he has become a quality player, he takes more breaks, he played in 2019 until the ATP Finals 16 games less than about in the 2016 series (63 to 79). Unlike in other years, he has the feeling, so Thiem, "here in London once again draw from the full, really be able to grow."
Anyway, the slightly more selective view of his traveling circus involvement has already brought him clear benefits: he won more tournaments than ever before (5) in 2019, he scored more victories over top ten rivals than ever (6), and he has lost so far only 17 times since the start of the season in January in Australia. The good World Cup feeling fueled the triumph at the home tournament in Vienna in the last race. It was, so to speak, the "Austria Slam" after the summer success in Kitzbühel. "Dominic is the man you first have to beat at this World Cup," says former English top man Greg Rusedski.