Australian Open: Mats Wilander criticizes Dominic Thiem's stance against Alex Bolt
The Swede Mats Wilander criticized Dominic Thiem's attitude at “ Game, Schett and Mats” on Eurosport in his trembling victory over the Australian Alex Bolt in the second round of the Australian Open.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 23, 2020, 08:38 pm
The second round duel between Dominic Thiem and Alex Bolt has once again shown how quickly a game can tip over in tennis. After impeccable performance in the first set, Dominic Thiem set out to also win set two. Up to 5: 4, serve Thiem, his Australian opponent saw little land.
So it was completely surprising that the Austrian had to accept the rebreak. It was also surprising for Dominic Thiem, who suddenly completely lost the thread. Four games en suite for Alex Bolt later it came out of nowhere 1: 1 in sentences. But Thiem caught himself and was clearly closer to a break in set three, but had to accept at 5: 4 and 6: 5 that the Australian was able to ward off five break chances. In the tie-break that followed, it was again Alex Bolt who seized the game and consequently took the lead with 2-1 in sets - completely against the course of the game.
What are the reasons for the ups and downs at Dominic Thiem?
But when it did run at Thiem - as in sets four and five - Alex Bolt was at a loss. The Australian was only able to win three games and was miles away from winning the match despite a 2-1 set lead. Dominic Thiem plus support team will probably give reason to think about the reasons for these ups and downs in the Austrian game.
The Eurosport expert and former number one, Mats Wilander, sees the reason for this in the attitude of the Austrian: “There is a big difference between him and Rafa, Roger and Novak, because you can't really tell whether they are good or bad play when you only see their posture. With Dominic Thiem you can immediately see that he is unhappy with his tennis when he starts to play badly, ”said the Swede at Game, Schett and Mats on Eurosport.
A question of attitude?
It was something that Thiem had to change. "Because that's why he lost in the first round at Wimbledon and at the US Open," continued Wilander. "His attitude has to become more constant." Wilander also believes that there are more players on the tour that Thiem finds it difficult to have than there are players that the Big-Three would have a hard time against. "With Dominic there is an obvious" Oh yes, this will be a difficult game ". How do you get rid of this? With a more constant attitude throughout the match. "
Dominic Thiem's compatriot Barbara Schett also expressed her concern about the consistency of the Austrian in this setting: "He is number five in the world, but in some matches he plays as if he could lose against someone with a ranking of 150 or 200," she said Austrian.
Dominic Thiem will be relatively uninterested in this criticism, as the Austrian is already preparing for his third round match, which will take place on Saturday. Against the high-impact Taylor Fritz, Thiem again meets a player who is less into the Austrian style of play. How could Dominic Thiem convince the critics better than by triumphing over the American?
The third round duel of Dominic Thiem and Taylor Fritz can be seen live on ServusTV.
Here you will find the entire tableau of the Australian Open.