Will Dominic Thiem take the next step in Tel Aviv?
Dominic Thiem has to play the number two of the tournament in round two in Tel Aviv, but he still found a good way to look at the draw. Can the Austrian take the next step on the way back to the top of the world at the ATP 250 event?
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Sep 26, 2022, 10:25 am
Dominic Thiem has already reached the first final since his injury break - at the ATP Challenger event in Rennes the Lower Austrian reached the final after good performances - what is missing is this performance on the bigger stage, on the ATP tour to refill. And Tel Aviv would be reasonably good for this.
Of course, Dominic Thiem is still missing a lot on his absolute top form. But: The man from Lichtenwörth is showing an increase week after week, as confirmed by the results of the last few weeks. Which is why it is not blind patriotism to give Thiem a slight role as favorite in the opening match against Laslo Djere in Tel Aviv ( from 4:30 p.m. in the live ticker).
Thiem with no bad draw
If Thiem beats the Serbs, there would be a trend-setting game: against Marin Cilic, number two in the tournament. Although the Croatian is the clear favorite in terms of ranking, Dominic Thiem has won all four duels between the two so far. And could win over the world number 16. open up the draw for a deep run.
The possible quarter-final and semi-final opponents - according to the ranking, the Botic van de Zandschulp and Maxime Cressy - fall under the category feasible - and would be perfect examples for Dominic Thiem, on which the Austrian could also base his increase in victories in recent weeks.
And if Thiem strikes twice after a possible triumph over Marin Cilic, there are three rewards for the man from Lichtenwörth: Not only would that mean the first finals since the almost one-year injury break, Thiem would also achieve his goal in the world rankings - the return to the top 100 - come significantly closer. And on top of that, Thiem should probably compete with Novak Djokovic in a possible final. The man with whom Thiem had such great matches months ago. And the man against whom many more are to follow.