US Open draw: Dominic Thiem and the tough guy in round three
Dominic Thiem caught a quite feasible draw at the US Open, as at the Australian Open, the third-round opponent could be the sticking point in this tournament.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Aug 27, 2020, 07:55 pm
The dress rehearsal for the second Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, could not have gone much worse for Dominic Thiem. Having traveled to the USA with extremely high expectations, the Austrian presented himself in terrifying shape in his opening match at the Western & Southern Open and was only able to win three games against Filip Krajinovic.
Of course, the world number three hurt the moment after the defeat, but at the same time the Lichtenwörther was looking towards the future, on Monday the US Open in Flushing Meadows should already start. According to Thiem, the obvious deficits could be remedied by the time they were launched, so you could still count on him at the Major.
A feasible start
This is also supported by the draw for the upcoming Grand Slam published on Thursday, especially in the first two rounds the Austrian caught a very feasible draw. The Austrian's first opponent is Jauma Munar, the Spanish clay court specialist. Thiem had to fight hard against him in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of this year, but the Spaniard is far less likely to be assessed on hard court.
The second round opponent Thiems is also quite feasible, regardless of whether his name is Sumit Nagal or Bradley Klahn. A move into the third round of the Grand Slam in the USA can be seen as quite likely, but this is where the first really big test for the number two on the seeding list awaits.
Cilic knows what it feels like
The big sticking point for the Austrian's performance in the upcoming major is probably the name Marin Cilic. The Croatian is one of the very few active players who knows what it feels like to win in Flushing Meadows and celebrated his only victory in a Grand Slam in 2014. Cilic is currently far from such a success, however, as the service giant has been lagging behind its form for months.
If the third in the world rankings should take this hurdle, the Losfee continued to mean it well with the 26-year-old: Felix Auger-Aliassime or Dan Evans in the round of 16 and Karen Khachanov or Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals may well be in a Grand Slam pleasant opponents in the rounds discussed.
Medvedev in possible semifinals
Should Thiem achieve a brilliant performance at one of the four most important tournaments of the year, as in Australia at the beginning of the year, a place in the semi-finals would be quite feasible. In this, however, it would be against last year's finalist Daniil Medvedev, who is not a particularly easy opponent for Thiem due to his defensive playing system.
However, this is all just pure speculation, the Western & Southern Open have shown how quickly the journey in a major tournament can come to an end, how unpredictable any opponent can be on a shining day. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the Losfee meant well with the Austrian, at least much better than with a good friend from Germany, Alexander Zverev.