Dominic Thiem in the Kitzbühel semi-final: "No brilliant performance"
After an anything but convincing performance, but with a lot of fighting spirit, the top seeded Dominic Thiem has entered the semi-finals of Kitzbühel. Thiem fought Spaniard Pablo Andujar with 7: 6 (4), 6: 4 after 1:44 hours, but had to make up 0: 2 in the first set and 0: 3 in the second. It is now the third time after 2014 and 2015 in the Generali Open semi-finals.
by APA
last edit: Aug 02, 2019, 12:18 am
In this he will meet the number 7 Italian Lorenzo Sonego for the first time on Friday (3rd match after 11.30 a.m. / live ServusTV).
Thiem also knew best of all that his opening game against Sebastian Ofner was more worth seeing. "Yesterday was a lot better, especially about me. It was a game today that I won almost a hundred percent through combat. I fought fully and that's why I won. It was certainly not a brilliant game, but such matches happen in almost every tournament, "said Thiem.
There are several reasons for this, such as completely different conditions. "I was just too short in the strokes, sometimes too far behind the baseline. I was on the defensive too often, but fortunately these are all irrelevant because I won the game." In between, "very good things flashed".
Dominic Thiem: "The main thing won"
Thiem had given up the serve against Andujar, eight years his senior, against whom he has now turned 3: 0 in head-to-head, and fell 0-2 behind. At 1: 2, the next three games went to the kickback, which meant 3: 3 towards the tie-break. In this to the delight of the 5,600 fans (sold out), Thiem prevailed after 7 minutes with 7: 4.
Also in the second set Thiem fell behind 0: 2 or 0: 3 after a very weak service game, but the 13-time tournament winner managed 3: 3 and the decisive break to 5: 4. Thiem's conclusion: "The main thing is that such victories are also very good if they are almost only about fighting."
After last weak Kitz appearances, he is now in the semi-finals for the first time in four years. This is "once a positive thing", but: "It does not satisfy me. I want to win the tournament there, one hundred percent and the chances are there. But I definitely have to improve. If I play like today, it will probably be nothing, it can go well once or twice, but eventually the opponents will be too strong for it. "
Now Thiem wants to reach the final for the second time after Kitzbühel 2014 and for the 22nd time on the ATP tour. Thiem has never played against Sonego, who fought off a match ball in the first two rounds in the first two rounds on the way to the semifinals, never played before. "I saw almost the whole game today. He plays very well, dangerously, super first serve and very good forehand. The combination, if he serves well and then gets the first balls on the forehand, there is little to counter that." His recipe is therefore good return and more play on Sonego's backhand.
Austria is also represented in the double semifinals on Friday. The top-seeded Oliver Marach / Jürgen Melzer did not overcome the quarter-final hurdle, but the Philipp Oswald from Vorarlberg alongside the Filip Polasek from Slovakia. They open the fifth matchday in Kitzbühel at 11.30 a.m. After that, the first finalist will not be determined between 1.30 p.m. between the Norwegian Casper Ruud and the Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.