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The dress rehearsal went wrong, at the US Open Dominic Thiem wants to cause a sensation. If he triumphs against the Spanish Jaume Munar, then anything is possible for the Austrian.
10:51 am, August 31, 2020
His dress rehearsal for the US Open in New York, which begins Monday (today), went awry, but Dominic Thiem keep that. The number two Austrian will face the Spaniard on Tuesday (second game after 5:00 pm CEST / ServusTV live) at the start of his seventh US Open Jaume munar. If he has a good start to the tournament, anything is possible for him.
Two years ago, Thiem played perhaps his best game yet at Flushing Meadows – the five-set quarter-final loss to Rafael Nadal was bitter, but it proved for the first time that Thiem can also be trusted to win a major title on the court. hard. And it almost happened at the Australian Open last January: Thiem got carried away Novak Djokovic but he still took a 2-1 lead and lost in five sets in the Melbourne final.
These memories count more for Thiem than they did almost a week ago, when he unexpectedly failed right at the start of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 event that moved to New York. Only three games against Filip Krajinovic: “These matches happen. Then he almost beat Raonic (later finalists, note) in straight sets. He’s playing super well right now and I didn’t have my best day,” Thiem explained.
But he knows his strengths and: “I know that things can change very quickly. I hope I have learned the right things from the game.” However, it’s funny if you stay in the same place after a loss. “Yeah, normally when you lose, you get mad, so you get on the plane and play in another seat. It’s also easier to forget.”
Thiem has not forgotten his three previous meetings with Jaume Munar, least of all this year in Rio, immediately before the Corona break. “The three games against him were all very even. In Rio I was behind the set and in the break, I almost lost. But the same applies as before the Corona break: every player who is in the main field here is incredibly good.” . explained the Lichtenwörther, who will celebrate his 27th birthday on the field if he wins.
“If I get my best performance, if I play well, fight well and am completely in the game, I have a good chance. If I am not completely there, the journey will end relatively quickly,” believes the three-time major league finalist. “I hope to play well from Tuesday and be fully in the tournament from the beginning. So the chances are good.”
The first touchstone is waiting on lap three
In case of victory, Thiem will face on Thursday, his birthday Bradley Klahn (USA) or the Indian Sumit Nagal. He has never played against any of them. The third round could be with the former US Open champion Marin cilic (CRO-31) waiting for the first royal touchstone.
Players are currently on a test for cohesion: Novak Djokovic has been fired as president of the Players Council within the ATP and wants to start his own players association. Thiem thinks about it, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, little. “I have not read it. I think what the ATP is doing is quite good. Of course they are not perfect. We are in difficult times due to the Covid crisis. I think it is important that we unite.” are and are not shared “.
Thiem was also asked about the unusual sequence of Grand Slam tournaments in New York and Paris and the only two weeks between the US Open final and the start at Roland Garros. “It is a new situation, but it is similar between the Grand Slams in Paris and Wimbledon, with only three weeks between them.”
To make matters worse, this time there is also the time difference and the change of continents. But for now, he wants to fully focus on his first hard court match with Munar (all previous ones on clay). “I’m curious. And of course I’m happy that Grand Slam tennis is back.”
