Dominic Thiem and Marin Cilic - a surprising number of parallels
Dominic Thiem and Marin Cilic are expected to meet tomorrow in the round of 16 of the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Tel Aviv. The careers of the two are quite comparable.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 27, 2022, 02:27 pm
The good news from the Israeli organizers' point of view on Monday was that Novak Djokovic arrived in Tel Aviv. It was always planned that way, but Djokovic complained of wrist pain during his second individual appearance in the Laver Cup against Félix Auger-Aliassime. Let's see if the tournament's number one can really play for the title.
The good news from an Austrian point of view was of course Dominic Thiem's progress after a tough fight against Laslo Djere. Thiem has thus met Marin Cilic, number two in Tel Aviv, a kind of deja vu. Because in Metz last week it was very similar: Thiem defeated Ricard Gasquet in round one. And then had to play against Hubert Hurkacz, who was seeded second.
Thiem and Cilic each successful at the US Open
Now Hurkacz Thiem's game is not particularly good. The Pole has won all three duels so far, it wasn't particularly close in Metz. Things are the other way around against Cilic: Dominic Thiem and the Croatian have met four times so far, and the 29-year-old from Lower Austria has won four. The signs may be different in Tel Aviv: Cilic is currently in 16th place in the ATP charts, Thiem is only 173rd. The soon to be 34-year-old is having a strong season, even if he hasn't won a title yet. Most recently, Cilic challenged the eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open for five hard sentences.
If you look at the merits of Thiem and Cilic, you will see amazing similarities. Both celebrated their only major triumph in New York City, both were successful once in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament: Dominic Thiem 2019 in Indian Wells, Marin Cilic 2016 in Cincinnati.
Twice inferior to Roger Federer
And both Thiem and Cilic have shown that the big victories at the US Open were not a flash in the pan: Dominic Thiem had previously been to Roland Garros twice and once at the Australian Open in the final, Marin Cilic in Wimbledon in 2017 and a few months later in Melbourne. He lost both finals against Roger Federer. By the way: on his way to victory in 2020, Dominic Thiem also beat Marin Cilic in the third round at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.
So there are two real champions of world tennis in Tel Aviv. It is to be hoped that more viewers will be able to get excited about this match than Dominic Thiem's premiere appearance on Monday.