The tennis year 2020 from ... Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem celebrated his longed-for triumph at a Grand Slam tournament in 2020 - but first he had to cope with a bitter defeat.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Dec 27, 2020, 09:49 am
The start in Australia, it ran rather stuttering for Dominic Thiem. At the ATP Cup, he won only one victory over Diego Schwartzman in three games, while he lost two sets of three against Hubert Hurkacz and Borna Coric. And also at the Australian Open, the Lichtenwörther had to shiver in round 3, against wildcard local hero Alex Bolt over the full distance.
In the end, three super games from Thiem followed: The quarter-finals against Rafael Nadal were great tennis from start to finish, Thiem didn't let his nerves get him down - he had already served to the match in the fourth set, but then got a heavy arm. Thiem was back in the tie-break, 7: 6 (3), 7: 6 (4), 4: 6 and 7: 6 (6) it was at the end. In the semifinals against Alexander Zverev it was again over four sets.
And then, the final against Novak Djokovic . Thiem played strong and got the 2: 1 set lead against a battered Djoker who found fifth gear again. Bitter for Thiem the break in the fourth set when he carelessly missed a possible 30-0 lead. 6: 4, 4: 6, 2: 6, 6: 3, 6: 4 are the lucky numbers for the world number one; for Thiem, after two final defeats in Roland Garros against Nadal, at the end of a strong tournament there was still the third final defeat by a major.
Thiem: US Open victory with a run-up
During the corona break, Thiem showed himself to be a frequent player, he completed a total of 28 matches. And, above all, increased physically.
Due to his competitive experience, he traveled to the USA as at least one of the favorites, so a 2: 6, 1: 6 at the Western & Southern Open against Filip Krajinovic was astonishing. Thiem, however, did not let that stop him, made only one sentence until the final in Flushing Meadows. And then quickly fell back against Alexander Zverev with 0: 2 sets and a break - the nerves ... They also caused the cramps at the end of the fifth round , when Thiem hit the ball properly again. With 2: 6, 4: 6, 6: 4, 6: 3, 7: 6 (6) he finally fought his way through, the big dream of a major victory had finally come true.
ATP Finals: Victory over Djokovic a highlight in 2020
That it "only" reached the quarter-finals in Paris (five set defeat against Diego Schwartzman) - so be it. Thiem already explained during the tournament how much strength New York had cost him.
The end of the year: a quarter-finals in Vienna. And again a riot in London with victories over Tsitsipas, Nadal and Djokovic. Especially the victory over Djoker after 0: 4 deficit in the decisive tie-break was a sign, Thiem played extremely brave here. In the end it was not enough to win the tournament, despite the set lead against Daniil Medvedev.
Dominic Thiem in 2020
- 25 wins, 9 losses
- 1 tournament win - US Open
- World number 3