US Open: Dominic Thiem - "I just entered"
The US Open adventure was a short one for Dominic Thiem 2019. The Austrian had to pay tribute to his illness before the last Grand Slam tournament of the year.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Aug 28, 2019, 08:01 am
By Jens Huiber from New York City
Dominic Thiem's voice had something almost sonorous at his press conference after the initial loss to Thomas Fabbiano. Not a bad requirement, the soon 26-year-old would strive for a position as a baritone at the Vienna State Opera in the near future. For a tennis match at the Grand Slam level, however, a disease that has just been overcome and can still be guessed with a clear ear and eye is extremely inconvenient.
He had lost the race against time, said Thiem in interview room 1 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Almost a year ago, the Lower Austrian commented on a match a few minutes after a devious smash that, apart from the bare result of the elimination, could not have been more different: While the quarter-finals in 2018 had seen two players with Thiem and Rafael Nadal, who from were completely in the juice at the first point (even if the Spaniard saw no light in the first set), Dominic Thiem's meeting with Fabbiano was at least two levels below his usual activity level.
Thiem also weakened in Melbourne
After the second sentence, he was more or less exhausted, Thiem said at the request of the international journalists. Even the numerous break chances in the third round would have given him little new hope. "I just entered. in the longer rallies “There were only four training days left before the start of the US Open, too few. Last year Thiem had to struggle with health problems in the summer, but he just got fit.
# BETATHOMEUSWIN #
The tournament win in Kitzbühel was very emotional, but would also have drawn a lot of energy from it. "Nice energy", as Dominic Thiem put it. The almost 26-year-old could have used it well in New York City - especially since Stefanos Tsitsipas (against Andrey Rublev), Félix Auger Aliassime (against Denis Shapovalov) and Roberto Bautista Agut (against Mikhail Kukushkin) are probably the three biggest competitors for one Had also said goodbye to the semifinals on Tuesday.
So the grid would have looked extremely friendly, all the more annoying for Dominic Thiem that his body had let him down with a major for the second time in 2019. In Melbourne, Thiem had to give up against Alexei Popyrin in round two.
Birthday party at home
So Thiem will celebrate his birthday on September 3rd after a few years of absence at home in Austria. And get his body back in shape. The next tasks will be with the Austrian Davis Cup team in Finland and then with the Laver Cup in Geneva.
The performance in Vienna is of course firmly planned, after the trip to Asia, but not in the State Opera. The town hall calls like every year at the end of October, Dominic Thiem will be happy to answer this call.