Toni Nadal - "Dominic Thiem made this mistake"
Toni Nadal , longtime coach of his nephew Rafael , analyzed the final of the Australian Open 2020 between Dominic Thiem and Novak Djokovic for the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Feb 12, 2020, 11:40 am
Toni Nadal's appearances on the sidelines of ATP tournaments have become rare. Carlos Moya has long taken over the coaching job alongside Rafael Nadal, yes, even the former number one in the world is happy to serve as a hitting partner. Uncle Toni, on the other hand, looks after the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, but still likes to write down his thoughts on the major events in professional tennis, for example in the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
The defeat of nephew Rafa against Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals has of course followed Toni, but for El Pais he has made the final between Thiem and Novak Djokovic. That, as is well known, ended with the Serb's eighth triumph in Melbourne. "This time Dominic was very close to making it," Toni writes.
Thiem subsides in the fourth movement
To identify the crux of the defeat: "But in my opinion he made an unforgivable mistake against a player the size of a Novak Djokovic - Dominic reduced his intensity in the fourth set, which helped the Serb." Thiem had the momentum on his side after winning sets two and three, but was unable to take advantage of an early break chance in round four. "Dominic won sets two and three with a clear strategy: keep the pace high in the rallies and always be the one who dictated the match."
“He did it in a way that in the third set we saw Djokovic, who was unusually doubtful in this tournament, and a few moments of despair. When we thought Thiem's strategy was clear and successful and it paid off, Dominic was unable to continue to hold its ground. ”
A great opportunity that the Austrian left behind in his third major final. "This mistake will haunt Dominic for a few weeks, preventing him from enjoying the great tournament he played."