Dominic Thiem on Shot Clock: "It's still a huddle"
Just two days after his second final at the French Open, Dominic Thiem took stock of his appearance at Roland Garros 2019 in a detailed press conference. While he is gaining strength for the future from his performance in Paris, he has so far been unhappy with the shot clock on the professional tour.
by Lukas Zahrer
last edit: Jun 13, 2019, 06:37 am
“I'm really happy with the two weeks. The match against Djokovic was probably my biggest career success, ”said Thiem on Tuesday about his first five-set match at Roland Garros.
The disappointment came the next day when he was beaten in four sets by Nadal in the final. “He played against me in the final like never before. It is a huge incentive for me to continue working very hard on myself in order to narrow the gap to him. ”
According to Thiem, the Spaniard always manages to get “one or two courses” in Paris. "But I am confident. The final of 2019 is no comparison to the previous year: the first two sets were at eye level, by the next year I have to keep the level longer. "
French Open Finale: Thiem criticizes game delay
In the first two sets of the Paris finals it was also that Thiem was annoyed with his box about the delay. "It always takes an hour to play a point," he called towards the end of the first sentence.
When asked about the situation by tennisnet , Thiem made it clear: “I wasn't annoyed with Nadal. He followed the rules completely and always served before the shot clock expired. ”
Rather, his anger was directed against the referee: “He should have done better. It determines when the shot clock starts. Everything needs to be made a bit more uniform. "
While one chair umpire triggers the shot clock earlier, it starts later at another. According to Thiem there were always delays, especially after changing sides. "It is still a confusion, I would say," summarized the 25-year-old.
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Shot Clock: From 2020 at all ATP tournaments
The so-called Shot Clock was first introduced on the big stage of a Grand Slam at the 2018 US Open. The players have 25 seconds between two points played before the service movement has to be initiated.
Should a player take longer, he can expect a warning from the referee. If the server continues to time out after that, the server loses its first service. The Shot Clock will be used in all tournaments in the 2020 season.