Analysis: these are Dominic Thiem’s ​​group rivals at London 2020

For the fifth time in a row, Dominic Thiem is at the start of the ATP Finals in London. Last year, the 27-year-old Austrian only failed in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.

Lichtenwörther only had to admit defeat in the third set tie-break. Will Thiem be able to play for the title again this time in the main tournament, where only the top eight players of the season can compete?

First of all, the world number three is about surviving the group stage. Only the best two players in the group of four advance. We present to you his opponents in the group “London 2020”:

Stefanos Tsitsipas (ATP 6)

The ATP Finals begin in 2020 as they ended a year ago: with the new edition of the Dominic Thiem final from the previous year against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The signs of a successful rematch from Lower Austria’s point of view are good: a week ago, the 22-year-old Greek was unable to contest his doubles final at the ATP 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy due to a foot injury. . In the first round of singles against Frenchman Ugo Humbert it was the end of the line, before he lost to Grigor Dimitrov at the Wiener Stadthalle.

Due to his foot injury, which he says he has been with him since the French Open at Roland Garros, he did not want to confirm his departure from London 100 percent for a long time. Tisitsipas had his best results since the restart after Corona’s break on clay: in Hamburg he only lost in the final against Andrey Rublev. Two weeks later, he retaliated against the Russian in the quarterfinals of the French Open. He then had to bow to Novak Djokovic in five sets. In heads-up, Thiem is just 4: 3 ahead of Tsitsipas.

Rafael Nadal (ATP 2)

Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal will meet for the 15th time in the ATP Finals next week. After all, Lower Austria won five games. Including the last memorable encounter in the Australian Open quarter-finals at the start of the season – at that point, he brought the Spanish superstar to his knees 7: 6, 7: 6, 4: 6, 7: 6 and probably played one of the best matches of his career. On hard court, the button has always been targeted in Thiem vs. Nadal.

The 2018 US Open quarterfinal thriller also went down in tennis history. In the fifth set tie-break, the 34-year-old Spaniard had the best finish for him. The London cracker is just the third hard court encounter between two exceptional clay experts. What speaks for Thiem: Nadal generally doesn’t feel very comfortable in the hallway. The ATP Finals are the only major tournament that he has yet to win in his incredible career. The Spaniard played his only indoor event this season last week at Paris-Bercy, where he had to admit defeat to Germany’s Alex Zverev in straight sets in the semi-finals.

Andrey Rublev (ATP 8)

The world-worst ranked player in the Thiem “London” group is currently the best athlete. At the start of the season, he was still outside the top 20, despite the coronavirus pandemic, and thanks to the five ATP titles he broke into the top 10 for the first time. In a big way: His home win in St. Petersburg was followed by the Erste Bank Open at the Wiener Stadthalle.

There he also destroyed the dreams of defending the title of local hero Dominic Thiem, who was clearly disabled in Vienna by a painful bladder. This injury has healed for some time. Nothing should stand in the way of an even duel this time. In head-to-head matches, the score is 2: 2. The Muscovite, who was supported by his Austrian grandmother in his tennis career, won the last two matches.

Text as: © LAOLA1.at

Interview with Wolfgang Thiem: “Now it’s all about tactics”

to the top » COMMENT_COUNT comments