French Open 2020: Dominic Thiem - as cool as Novak Djokovic in the tiebreaks
Dominic Thiem was happy that he didn't have to go more than three sets against Jack Sock . And revealed in his press conference what he had copied from world number one Novak Djokovic.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 30, 2020, 08:47 pm
Dominic Thiem was already 3: 6 behind in the tie-break of the third set in his second round encounter at the French Open against Jack Sock, a lap of honor after two convincingly won rounds seemed almost inevitable. Thiem, however, grabbed five points in a row, was also a bit lucky when his opponent's forehand just missed the target.
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It should be noted: Dominic Thiem has not lost a tie-break since the restart of the ATP tour. Admittedly, the sample only includes the US Open and the first two games in Paris, but in New York Thiem held brief decisions to Jaume Munar, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev (twice) and at the big showdown also to Alexander Zverev harmless. One of the reasons? Dominic Thiem has borrowed from Novak Djokovic, who has been virtually invincible in tie breaks since Wimbledon last year.
Thiem concerned about control in the tiebreaks
"In general, I try to be more careful that I don't make a mistake than that I'm going too much for winners now," Thiem said in his press conference after the match against Sock. “I did very, very well against Medvedev, where I won the two tiebreaks. Against Félix it was the same in the fourth round. I copied that a bit from Nole, because he is always there in the tiebreaks and always plays a lot of returns. And then just plays the ball into the field in such a way that the opponent cannot do anything. "
Against Alexander Zverev, Thiem was the more active player. If not entirely on purpose. “That was an exceptional situation, this fifth sentence with the tiebreak in New York. I didn't even think about that anymore, I have to honestly say. I just kind of tried to win it. "
Casper Ruud is now waiting
In the third set against Sock in Paris, the new approach worked well. Which was helpful in that Dominic Thiem was already a little tired at this point. The 27-year-old explained in the English part of the PK that he is still being carried by the US Open wave. But at some point the tiredness will show.
On the other hand: That also applies to Thiem's upcoming opponent, Casper Ruud. The Norwegian won against Tommy Paul in five sets and has played a lot of tennis in the past few weeks: After the US Open, he was still in Rome and Hamburg, and Ruud celebrated successes in both tournaments. But also grains left. Dominic Thiem is nevertheless warned: he welcomed Casper Ruud as a guest at “Thiem's 7” in Kitzbühel in the summer. And was able to gain an impression of the strength of his rival Friday in a direct duel.
Here the single tableau in Paris
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