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Dominic Thiem cleared the first hurdle and secured a birthday match Thursday in the second round of the US Open in New York.
The then 27-year-old world number three will face 124th ATP rankings Sumit Nagal of India for the first time. Tuesday’s first round against Spaniard Jaume Munar didn’t show Thiem in top form, but Nagal shouldn’t be a huge touchstone.
“My game was far from perfect, but it wasn’t bad either,” Thiem said at the press conference organized via a video link after Munar’s first round match, which was 7: 6, 6: 3.
“The game was completely normal until 7: 6.4: 3, only then did he start serving poorly. Until then he played well and ran an incredible amount,” said Thiem, who was happy to have the close first. He won the set in the tie break. “I stayed with that the whole time, that was a very good sign.”
Recovered intensity and motivation
A good sign after a tough defeat in New York in the Masters 1000 tournament against Filip Krajinovic (only three games for Thiem). He later confessed in the ServusTV interview that this failure was in his stomach for the longest time.
“Last week was difficult: I got pretty hard on the top, I played very badly, I didn’t perform well on the court and the days after were not easy because you can’t do anything,” he said about the coronavirus pandemic. omnipresent “bubble”.
Players can only move between the hotel and the US Open facilities. “You usually try to distract yourself in some way. That’s not possible here, so it wasn’t easy to find this intensity, the motivation again. Today was really good, so it has to be in the first laps.”
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Thiem honors former number one Andy Murray
The chase of Andy Murray was still ongoing at this point, who then fell 2-0 to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka after 4:39 hours to do 4: 6, 4: 6, 7: 6 (5), 7: 6 (4), victory 6-4 converted.
Thiem had seen part of the game before and praised the Scotsman who had had his hip surgery. “He was and is one of my absolute favorite players. Absolutely exemplary in the way he fights. He is not as good as in his prime, but his will is incredible,” said Thiem.
Also, many underestimate Murray. “Everybody talks about the ‘big three’. I would include it. I am sure that in another era I would have won ten more (more than ten) Grand Slams.”
Next opponent Nagal only known on television
Thiem only knows his next opponent from television. “I saw his match against Roger (Federer) here in the first round last year, it was a night session. He played well and he has an extremely good forehand,” Thiem recalls. Therefore, it is important to avoid this forehand. Until Thursday, you want to check out some of Nagal’s top videos on YouTube.
He doesn’t have to improve enormously yet, even if one of his parade hits, the long backhand, was a rarity Tuesday. “Of course I lost it,” he said of the hit.
But it was not easy due to the wind conditions. “When it’s windy, I have my problems with the normal backhand, so I like to wear the cut. Of course when I need it, I hope it comes back.
Viewer? “I don’t want to get used to it”
Even if Thiem made it to the final like at the Australian Open, the fans, who generally create a very loud atmosphere in New York, won’t be there either.
“It won’t get any better. It’s also a lot of fun when you watch. It’s an incredible point and you have in your head that it’s really happening there (in the stadium, note) and nothing comes up,” Thiem said on ServusTV. after watching Murray-Nishioka.
“The same thing happens when you play yourself. It’s difficult and a little sad, but the only thing you can do is hope that the situation does not last long. But I don’t want to get used to it.”
What he already likes in this extraordinary situation, however, is the lack of spectators for all the seeded players in the singles, as well as some previous winners built suites at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It’s very good because you pick up your meal, I’ve always been able to watch training in recent weeks, now you can watch the games.”
Textquelle: © WHAT
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