Dominic Thiem - after Rio is before Indian Wells
Dominic Thiem left the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro surprisingly early. The Austrian number one is now fully focused on preparing to defend its title in Indian Wells.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Feb 22, 2020, 09:44 pm
Who may remember: On the way to his title at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna last fall, Dominic Thiem has capacitors like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Fernando Verdasco, Pablo Carreno Busta (if only briefly), Matteo Berrettini and finally Diego Schwartzman conquered. In Rio de Janeiro, at a tournament in the same category as Vienna, the 26-year-old Austrian could have had it much easier. But somehow things didn't go brilliantly for Thiem on Brazilian sand, even if he still made it to the quarter-finals with difficulty.
There, however, the two-day appearance against Gianluca Mager left a few questions, such as why Thiem was in such a hurry in the sequel: serve volley as a surprise element is also good on ashes, as a stylistic device for almost everyone The last point you saw was when Stefan Edberg was in bloom. Perhaps it was the prospect of having to play a second match on Saturday that prompted Dominic Thiem to shorten the rallies. Or the knee, which needed medical attention in the first match against Felipe Meligeni, did not hold up so well after all.
Thiem will overtake Federer
In any case, Thiem now has enough time to recover. The next appearance is only planned in Indian Wells, Acapulco and the Davis Cup were still the world's fourth, if any, worth a fleeting thought. However, the new career high will no longer be avoidable - even if it is delayed by a week. It is known that Roger Federer will not defend his title in Dubai, Dominic Thiem will officially become the third best player in the world on March 2nd, 2020.
But that also means: The target on Dominic Thiem's back gets bigger the higher he climbs in the charts. This could also be observed in Rio: Neither Meligeni, Mager nor Jaume Munar in lap two had anything to lose, risked and varied a lot. Almost like Alex Bolt at the Australian Open - but of course Dominic Thiem had the best of five mode with the regulations on his side. Small sins are punished faster at regular tour events.
But good: Now Los Angeles is calling, father Wolfgang and Dr. Michael Reinprecht to Team Thiem, once again a condition block is inserted. With good reason. Because the way to defending the title in Indian Wells could be as difficult as that in Vienna in autumn 2019. To win his first ATP Masters 1000 title, Dominic Thiem finally had to deal with Jordan Thompson, Gilles Simon, Ivo almost a year ago Defeat Karlovic, Gael Monfils (who could not compete for the quarter-finals) Milos Raonic and Roger Federer. After all, Thiem will be spared the latter for known reasons.