Australian Open: Dominic Thiem after losing to Dimitrov - "Just a pitch-black day"
Dominic Thiem didn't want to look for excuses after his elimination in the round of 16 of the Australian Open against Grigor Dimitrov . However, pointed out slight physical complaints.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 14, 2021, 10:07 am
The final phase of the first Grand Slam tournament in 2020 will take place without Dominic Thiem. The Austrian said goodbye with a 4: 6, 4: 6 and 0: 6 against Grigor Dimitrov. In a match, the course of which was remarkably similar in the first two sets: Thiem managed the break to 3: 1, followed by opportunities for immediate confirmation. Which the Austrians could not use. Dimitrov, on the other hand, did not offer anything in the decisive phase. And played a solid third set. That was enough to move into the quarter-finals, where an outsider, Aslan Karatsev, is waiting on Tuesday.
Thiem didn't seem quite at peace during the entire match, the change of shoes when the score was 4: 5 in the first set was just a symptom. He would have had minor physical complaints, but e didn't want to explain them in more detail. "I don't want to look for excuses." so Thiem immediately after the match. "It's also because I'm not a machine. I would like to be one. It was just a pitch-black day."
Djokovic and Nadal also have problems
It was not the first time that Thiem did not feel 100 percent comfortable before he went to a Grand Slam match. This was last the case in New York City in 2019, when the Austrian lost to Thomas Fabbiano, weakened by illness. Or had to give up his match against Juan Martin del Potro three years earlier because he had problems with blisters on his feet. Still, there was more to it than Dimitrov. Especially since the two top seeded in Melbourne, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal , are struggling with physical problems. And were able to overcome them in the first few laps.
Considered soberly, Dominic Thiem's defeat against Dimitrov missed a great chance of another semifinal in a major. Because with Karatsev the number 117 in the world is now waiting for Dimitrov. And even if the Russian has so far been convincing, he was even able to make up a 2-0 set deficit in the round of 16 against Félix Auger-Aliassime : In this phase of a Grand Slam tournament, a player like Grigor Dimitrov has to be the clear favorite.
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