US Open: Dominic Thiem sets new records
Dominic Thiem is playing today against Daniil Medvedev (live from midnight on TV and livestream on Eurosport and in Austria on Servus TV and in our live ticker) to make it into the final of the US Open for the first time. The Austrian walks in the footsteps of Thomas Muster.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 11, 2020, 08:17 am
Thomas Muster has set brands for Austrian tennis that Dominic Thiem still has to work on: The Styrian won the title in Roland Garros in 1995, was in 1989 (defeat against Ivan Lendl in four sets) and 1997 (as a model against Pete Sampras lost) in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, reached number one in the ATP world rankings in 1996. Thiem is also still missing a few of the 44 tournament victories, the now 27-year-old holds 16.
At the US Open, however, Dominic Thiem has already surpassed Thomas Muster, who at best ended in the quarter-finals. Thiem was approached after his success against Alex de Minaur, the current Austrian number one gave a friendly, but firm notice that this was warmly par for him. He's playing an excellent tournament in New York City, against Daniil Medvedev the chances in today's semifinals are at least equal.
Muster and Melzer as Thiem's predecessor
It will be Dominic Thiem's fifth appearance in a major semi-final, besides Muster and from an Austrian point of view, only Jürgen Melzer managed this feat in 2010 in Roland Garros. After Thiem has been among the top ten players in the ATP world rankings for years, and is also a regular at the ATP Finals in London, the move into the top four in New York City 2020 may not be a surprise. But also confirmation of the playful maturity, the brilliant physical condition and the high ability to concentrate on the essentials at a Grand Slam tournament.
There is precious little to complain about in the men's field at the current US Open: Yes, Roger Federer is not at the start. On the one hand, due to his knee operations, the Swiss would have ended the 2020 season after the cancellation of the Olympic Games in Tokyo anyway. And the inclined Federer fan shouldn't forget: The maestro's last triumph dates back to 2008.
Of the real contenders for victory, despite all the love for Gael Monfils , only Rafael Nadal is missing. The defending champion decided to concentrate fully on the postponed clay court season and did without the bubble life in New York. Whether Nadal is right with regard to his 20th major title remains to be seen: The Paris sand will play significantly different at the end of September than at the beginning of June. Maybe not to the advantage of the Spaniard.
Djokovic and Tsitsipas eliminate themselves
Apart from the absence of Nadal, there is nothing to complain about from a sporting point of view if the four remaining players meet in the semifinals. Pablo Carreno Busta cannot be blamed for the unfortunate fact that Novak Djokovic shot himself out of the tournament. After all, the Spaniard qualified for the season finale in London in 2017. And Stefanos Tsitsipas , who started the event as number four, probably doesn't know a few days later how he could have lost the match against Borna Coric.
Dominic Thiem has rightly placed himself in the semifinals, finally the summer trip to the USA is not affected by an illness. Of course: Marin Cilic is no longer the size of previous years and Félix Auger-Aliassime is not yet mature enough to get far in a Grand Slam tournament. Above all, Thiem said goodbye to the Canadian, as did the Australian de Minaur in the quarter-finals.
Rublev leaves Medvedev in his comfort zone
Daniil Medvedev is now a different caliber. The Russian is the only player who has not yet given a sentence. But what is also due to his compatriot Andrey Rublev , who gave round one in the quarterfinals almost in Tsitsipas-style. In 2019 Medvedev clashed with the audience and made it very loudly into the final, where the fans suddenly cheered him after his chase against Nadal. With this edition of the US Open, Daniil Medvedev has been sneaking quietly so far.
Dominic Thiem's play system can still be described as almost ideal with regard to an opponent Medvedev: The Austrian can offer his opponent different speeds and types of spin, and get Medvedev out of his comfort zone. Right there Rublev had left him almost continuously with flat, hard balls. Thiem will use the slice with the backhand and the heavy spin with the forehand - this recipe is very promising against Daniil Medvedev. Another decisive factor will also be one stroke in which Thiem has improved a lot over the past few years: the return. Because Medvedev's greatest weapon remains, for all its counter-qualities, its serve.
Dominic Thiem can improve his own record at the US Open again tonight. That is not a matter of course. Rather, it is in the tradition of Thomas Muster, who the Austrian fans knew was one of the contenders for victory in (almost) every tournament in his prime.