Thiem and Co. move into the hangar, doubts about US Open growing
After the fairly successful tournament premiere, the tennis caravan for Dominic Thiem, third in the world rankings, moves on to the former Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. Meanwhile, doubts about the direction of the US Open are growing.
by SID / tennisnet
last edit: Jul 16, 2020, 02:34 pm
After winning the lawn at the first Berlin invitation tournament, Dominic Thiem quickly looked to the next task. The slightly different field of participants around the Austrian will open in the capital in hangar 6 of the former Tempelhof airport from Friday - an unusual premiere.
"The location is cool, so I'm looking forward to it. Maybe you only play in a hangar once in your life, so I want to enjoy every detail," said 26-year-old Thiem, who previously played at Matteo in Steffi Graf Stadium Berrettini was able to defeat 6: 7, 6: 4 and 10: 8 in the final after more than seven hours of rain.
Here is the match to read in the live ticker.
National coach Barbara Rittner was also looking forward to the move. "At first I thought it was a nice idea. But now that I have seen the location, I have to say: It is an outstanding idea, something very special," said Rittner, who also acts as tournament director in Berlin, the Berliner Morgenpost .
Lawn finalist Berrettini will no longer be in the hangar, but the Russian Karen Khachanov will take to the field, to whom 42-year-old Tommy Haas belongs. Julia Görges (Bad Oldesloe) is also out after her ankle injury, she will be replaced by Alexandra Vecic (Immendingen). Alexander Zverev canceled his participation in Berlin at short notice.
Friday with Haas against Struff
It starts on Friday from 11.30 a.m. with the match between Jannik Sinner and Khachanov, followed by the final of the first tournament between Elina Svitolina and Petra Kvitova, which was held on Wednesday in the Steffi Graf Stadium due to rain.
Jan-Lennard Struff then play against Tommy Haas, Alexandra Vecic against Andrea Petkovic and Anastasija Sevastova against Kiki Bertens.
Rittner: "Everything went smoothly"
The tournament in the Steffi-Graf-Stadion suffered from the early out of the Germans and lean attendance. For Rittner, however, the focus was on the strict hygiene concept having proven itself and that the tournament was able to go on without a hitch after the corona break - Berlin was the first top-class event in Germany that was once again open to the public.
"Everything has gone smoothly so far. You really have to compliment the active team and their teams," praised Rittner. The 59-page hygiene concept including disinfection column and constant fever measurement was also adopted by the audience. But it also had its price, Rittner emphasized, which is why the ticket prices (120 to 150 euros) had to be increased.
"As a player, I wouldn't want to fly to New York"
It was initially unclear whether the concept - as announced - would also be considered by the world associations ATP and WTA for its restart at the beginning of August. The planned restart of the men's tournaments in August in the USA - with the US Open on August 31 - seems particularly questionable. The USA repeatedly reports new record numbers of infections, according to the latest media reports, residents in New York should increasingly flee to the countryside.
Rittner also has doubts that the US will play again soon. "I think it is realistic that the ladies' tour in Europe will start at the beginning of August as planned. But given the immense number of infections throughout America, I don't see the US Open taking place in New York at the end of August, especially because the travel restrictions are high," she said and added meaningfully: "As a player I wouldn't want to go there."