Dominic Thiem - No bad feeling after the end
Dominic Thiem has not shown any concern after being eliminated in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy against Grigor Dimitrov. But praised his opponent.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Nov 01, 2019, 02:09 pm
Dominic Thiem does not take a defeat lightly, but with the one against Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday in Paris-Bercy the Austrian can live. For him, as Thiem emphasized before and after the match, Dimitrov was one of the top ten players in the world anyway, no matter what the current ranking says. This is still 27th place at the moment, with his quarter-final in Paris, the Bulgarian has at least once made up three ranks.
The 6: 3 and 6: 2 went as clearly as the result said. If Thiem had made other decisions in one, two important situations, the ball was not played into the opponent's opponent, at least a little more tension would have come up. No reproach to Thiem, who after the exhausting week in Vienna and the no less devastating opening win against Milos Raonic no longer had the liveliness needed to win a match against a man like Dimitrov. Who in turn, often a victim of his lethargy, flew over the center court as if it were 2017. At that time, Grigor Dimitrov won the final at the ATP Finals in London, but comparisons to his best career phase, the 28-year-old banned. Anyway, against Cristian Garin Dimitrov trades as a favorite, a semi-final in Paris-Bercy would be next to the one at the US Open tres chic.
Monfils can overtake Berrettini
Dominic Thiem could report that he finished in the last four last year. Much more important, however, that the Austrian has cemented his place among the top eight players in the world so firmly that there is already nothing left to shake at the start of the finals. How much the fight to the last second can demand a player, that's how Matteo Berrettini has demonstrated by example. After his opening defeat against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Italian now relies on the services of Denis Shapovalov. Should the Canadian lose to Gael Monfils, then the Frenchman can book the flight to London. And train Berrettini as a replacement high-profile.
If it goes to Dominic Thiem, he would rather prefer Monfils as a group opponent in London. The play of the French exceptional athlete Thiem is much better than the serve forehand cannonade of Berrettini. On the other hand, with five tournaments behind, Thiem will not care much about who he will compete against in London. Especially since he has won against all four players ranked in front of him in the current season: against Novak Djokovic in Roland Garros, against Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev in Barcelona, and against Roger Federer in the final of Indian Wells.
The Swiss has taken the week off to prepare properly for London. Dominic Thiem can join the maestro with a few days delay in this regard.