US Open: Dominic Thiem - "Very, very dangerous until the end"
Dominic Thiem maneuvered himself through tricky situations against Marin Cilic after an outstanding start. Thiem has only praise left for his upcoming opponent.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 06, 2020, 08:57 am
Günter Bresnik once said years ago that his protégé at the time, Dominic Thiem, could remember every single point he played in a match. Well, if Thiem keeps every point in mind, then every part as a total work of art. And so the Austrian may have remembered 2017 after a little more than an hour of playing time against Marin Cilic, when he took the lead with 2-0 sets against Juan Martin del Potro in a hurry. In order to then give up control of the match bit by bit.
The situation at 6: 2, 6: 2, 3: 6 and 6: 3 against the Croatian US Open winner from 2014 did not develop quite as dramatically. Also because Thiem put a volley on the line in the fifth game of the fourth set at Breakchance Cilic, which Darren Cahill placed in the John McEnroe category in an interview after the match. Thiem didn't want to go that far, but everyone involved was clear about the importance of this point.
Dominic Thiem is thinking of 2017
Nevertheless, Thiem had to think back to the match against del Potro. “Cilic wasn't sick like Del Potro was back then,” but the Croatian, like the Argentine, is a player who always believes in success. “Not many players have this absolute winner. It was very, very dangerous right up to the end. Such players always stay tuned until the end. Actually, there is never the case that you play it home easily. So I'm glad that there was no deja vu. "
The big difference to the meeting with del Potro three years ago: at that time the Grandstand was full of Argentine fans who drove their hero to make a comeback. On Saturday evening in New York, Dominic Thiem would have liked a few fans who would have absorbed his drop in energy at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth movement.
Félix Auger-Aliassime is waiting
On Monday Thiem will play against Félix Auger-Aliassime, who, according to the Austrian, brings the "complete package" with him. Playful. Athletic. And off the court too - after all, the Canadian is a good-looking guy, as Thiem Cahill said on the way. In terms of sport, Auger-Aliassime set a clear example against Corentin Moutet, throwing the French out of the tournament with no humor.
The arrival of "FAA" had been announced a long time ago, so Thiem in his press conference after the match. Just like that of the young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won his first title on the ATP Challenger Tour a few days ago. He observes the tennis scene very closely, there are hardly any surprises for him. Neither in his own game nor with most of the potential opponents.