US Open winner Dominic Thiem: "I'm someone who always wants to go to his limits"
Dominic Thiem has long had a reputation as a man who tirelessly paints. And as someone who always goes to his limits - he proved that again on Sunday evening in the US Open final against Alexander Zverev .
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Sep 15, 2020, 07:28 am
On the eve of the New York final against Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem allowed himself a slightly sarcastic outlook. “Maybe when it's over I'll have to call Andy Murray. Namely when I lose, "said Thiem. It would have been a conversation between two tennis stars who would all have lost their first four Grand Slam finals - both Scotland's Braveheart Murray and Austria's ace Thiem.
But then, in a rousing day and night performance at the US Open 2020, it did not become a story of further and repeated failure for Thiem. But the story of a historic race to catch up, the story of the first player who, in the modern tennis era in the Big Apple, turned a 2-0 set deficit into a long, long-unlikely triumph. "That's what I've been working towards all my life," said Thiem, the hard worker among the supermen of his sport.
The transformation of Dominic Thiem
Thiem, this hard-working, tireless, extremely personable painter, had long been traded as a candidate for the best prizes of the traveling circus. But like so many others, he failed on the biggest stages because of the dominance of the big three, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Against him, the world number one from Serbia, he lost the Australian Open final in January, before Thiem had already kicked friend Zverev out of the race in the semifinals.
Thiem's sporty, but also personal profile had gradually changed after the successful apprenticeship in adult tennis - step by step, very carefully, not jerkily: The 27-year-old had found more independence at his workplace, after a not completely trouble-free, but nevertheless Scandal-free process of cutting the cord from his long-standing, well-deserved foster father Günter Bresnik. In addition, Thiem had developed from a frequent player to a quality player, to one who had become more and more secure and self-confident beyond his favorite terrain of sand. Thiem had become a modern all-rounder who could grab titles anywhere.
John McEnroe: "You need a strong ego - Thiem has it"
Thiem had gained a high level of respect and recognition from the industry giants at an early stage, also because he did not allow himself any antics or quirks like some spoiled youngsters. Thiem, internalized the think-big principle early on, he wanted to keep up with the very best, defeat them, even win Grand Slams. Against the top stars, he relentlessly competed with courage, determination and courage, he liked the duels in the most dazzling locations, he grew with the tasks. The imperturbability was also borne by psychological stability, the knowledge of one's own physical strength and considerable athleticism. "You also need a strong ego to keep up with the masters of the universe," says John McEnroe, "and Thiem has it."
Boris Becker recorded something very important at Thiem early on, namely that the Austrian is someone "where you can feel at every moment that he wants to make something out of his talents": "He doesn't waste a minute." Thiem, a down-to-earth, apart from the Center Courts, he was a modest character, won many big matches, but also lost the most important games up to the US Open coup on Sunday evening. The defeats were frustrating, but not destructive for the mid-twenties - he always came back strong and stronger, marked new paths to success. His credo was always with him, the resolution that he formulated: “I am someone who always wants to go to my limits. I've also invested more in my career than most of the others. "