Roger Federer vs. Dominic Thiem - The first final on Sunday?
Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem will be competing on Sunday (9pm, live on Sky and in our live ticker) for the first strike match of the ATP Finals 2019. The pressure is very high.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Nov 06, 2019, 10:12 am
Roger Federer has already won more matches in the current season than a year before, 2019 are 51 to book, in the past season it was a victory less. And yet the ATP finals in London are yet to arrive. There, however, Federer left just under a year ago with a balanced balance sheet: Two successes against Kevin Anderson and Dominic Thiem faced two bankruptcies against Alexander Zverev and Kei Nishikori.
Above all, the opening defeat against the Japanese has Federer brooding. And left behind pretty badly. Anyway, it seemed in the press conference after the defeat just as if the Swiss did not want to compete for the second group game, so annoyed seemed Federer. In truth, the maestro took only one day off, retired with his family. And came fresh and purified back into the tournament.
Federer wins in Basel, Thiem in Vienna
However, the 2018 conditions were different than this time: Federer had pitched in Paris-Bercy, delivered an epic semi-final with Novak Djokovic. He lost. In the current campaign, Federer has skipped the dodge about the French capital, he comes after his tenth tournament victory in Basel, the 103rd of his career in total, very rested to London.
On Sunday, however, meets a man against whom he lost both matches in 2019: Dominic Thiem. First, the Austrian prevailed in the final of Indian Wells, then in the round of the last eight in Madrid. Thiem was known to celebrate a home victory in Vienna in parallel with Federer, the strain of this week was to be noted by the Austrian in Paris-Bercy. On the other hand, Thiem counts twelve Lenze less than Federer, the regeneration time should turn out to be significantly shorter for the 26-year-old.
Djokovic as favorite to London
There is no question that the pressure is already high in the first match, as the big favorite in the group is Novak Djokovic, who opens against Mateo Berrettini on Sunday afternoon. Djokovic has convincingly won the title in Paris-Bercy despite health problems, in London it is for the Serb to recapture the number one spot in the ATP world rankings.
The loser of the match between Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem would therefore have to win against Novak Djokovic. Thiem did this a few months ago at the French Open. Federer's last victory, on the other hand, dates from 2015. By the way, at the ATP Finals in London.