Dominic Thiem: Why he will get rhythm in Hamburg
Dominic Thiem meets a man in the first round of the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Hamburg, whom he has defeated twice in 2019: Pablo Cuevas.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jul 22, 2019, 10:06 am
No question: Dominic Thiem has become familiar with Hamburg's Rothenbaum over the past few days, answered the international press's questions - and had to briefly release his coach Nicolas Massu for other jobs. Massu stepped in for Mischa Zverev in a celebrity double, no problem for the Chilean - he likes to hit balls with Thiem often.
Who will meet a player in his first round match who he knows at least as well as the circumstances at the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Hamburg: Pablo Cuevas. There have been six games between Thiem and the Uruguayan man so far, and it has been a tight deal on almost every occasion. In 2019 Thiem and Cuevas met twice, the Lower Austrian took the victory in both Buenos Aires and the French Open.
Cuevas also successful with challengers
Cuevas, born in Argentina and now 33 years old, is an ideal first opponent for Thiem: The seasoned player plays excellent clay court tennis with a lot of rhythm, just right for the Austrian, who has only given gas at the training ground since his departure against Sam Querrey in Wimbledon Has.
At the same time, Cuevas is a rather ungrateful opponent for the number one in Hamburg. On good days, Cuevas on sand can be a danger to almost all players. See his qualification final in Estoril, where Cuevas tortured properly in the final Stefanos Tsitsipas and only narrowly lost. The fact that Pablo Cuevas still has goals in tennis is also shown by the fact that he already won two tournaments on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2019, in Tunis and Aix en Provence.
Thiem trains with Zverev
Nevertheless, Dominic Thiem will go as a favorite in the meeting with Cuevas. The Austrian number one trained on Sunday with its German counterpart, Alexander Zverev. He goes to the event in his hometown under different conditions, especially since Zverev, Nicolas Jarry, has picked up a first-round opponent who comes to Hamburg with the confidence of his first tournament victory in Bastad.
A reunion with Thiem is certainly not only desirable for Zverev, it would only happen if he moved into the finals. The organizers would also have no objection to a German-Austrian duel next Sunday. Pablo Cuevas does.