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“It is not easy to always be mentally at 100 percent energy. I’ve gotten used to everything else, to all the circumstances of this situation, ”said the 27-year-old from Lower Austria after reaching the semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win over Australian Alex de Miñaur. Overall, it’s great that you can play the tournament in New York.
“But there are some situations in every game where it would be nice to have the fans to keep up the energy, to celebrate big points, or it doesn’t feel so bad when you have a worse period. Everything ends when there are no fans in the stadium ”. It is a unique situation. “Now I’m in the semi-finals, that was my fifth game, so I’m used to it.”
Thiem for the first time in the US Open semifinals
Dominic Thiem’s appearance at the US Open is already steeped in history. After his success, he reached the semi-finals over Australian Alex de Miñaur. No Austrian has ever managed to do this in New York.
“Swim a little in the wave of happiness”
“It feels great, I’m happy. Great tennis too. I’m currently swimming a bit in the wave of happiness, ”Thiem said happily after the quarter-final victory. “It’s a great feeling, especially after last week’s tough phase in Cincinnati, to be in the semifinals now, that’s really good for me.”
Tactically, he found the right combination of offense and defense against De Miñaur. “If you do very little yourself, it comes immediately. What worked very well was also the cut, and that is also very important for the next game,” analyzed the six-time Grand Slam semifinalist.
If you want to reach your fourth grand final after two finals at the French Open and this year at the Australian Open, you will have to show your best tennis. The next opponent is Russian finalist Daniil Medvedev. Felix Auger-Aliassime (round of 16) and de Miñaur are incredible players, “but then they separated a bit, and that will definitely not be the case for Medvedev. It will be a very tough game. “
TV viewers are helpful too
Thiem denied that contact with his own team, which this year was only occupied by coach Nicolas Massu, physio Alex Stober and friend Lucas Leitner, was even more important given the lack of fans. “Contact is always equally important because they always get me out of difficult situations.”
Thiem assured him that the idea that millions were cheering on television would help him. “It looks better on TV than when you play it yourself, because tennis is a very TV-friendly sport and that motivates you.” Especially in situations where you would need the hearing. “The idea that a lot of people around the world are watching in front of televisions can be helpful.”
The void as a whole new experience
Daily training isn’t that easy to handle mentally either. The number of players is drastically reduced at the end of this great tournament. “In a normal Grand Slam tournament, that doesn’t really stand out, because all the places are free at the end of the second week, but the venues are full because there are between 40,000 and 50,000 spectators,” Thiem explained.
“But now it is much, much emptier. At the beginning there were almost 300 players, now almost none. Fortunately, the wheelchair players have arrived, who have encouraged the installation a bit, and it is good to see them too.” Otherwise, it’s really empty and it’s definitely different from all the other Grand Slam tournaments I’ve played so far. “
So there is an eerie atmosphere in Flushing Meadows, which normally draws three-quarters of a million fans in the two weeks of the tournament. And especially “spooky” if you just played the night session, in the largest but empty tennis stadium in the world.
