Dominic Thiem faces tough title defense at Erste Bank Open

Dominic Thiem won his “definitely most valuable title” after the US Open a year ago at the Wiener Stadthalle. The victory at her local tournament, the Erste Bank Open, marked a milestone in the tennis star’s career. The prerequisites for successfully defending the title are not the best for several reasons: Above all, the enormously strong lineup with a total of seven players in the top ten, especially Novak Djokovic, makes it very difficult for Thiem.

“Seven players in the top ten, less than 30, of which almost every round is a final,” Thiem said Thursday on the occasion of the inauguration of his new training base in Traiskirchen. “In the first round I can play against the top 15 players and if you want to go far against the top 15 players. In terms of value, that’s like a Masters.”

The competing tournament in Basel, which was prematurely canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, like an ATP 500 tournament in Vienna, does not attract the top ten players to Switzerland this time. The big problem, however, is that, unlike last year, Thiem will not have a sold-out room behind them.

“Last year was crazy. I think all the matches were sold out. I remember mainly the semi-finals and finals. I never played before and after that, when the mood was better,” recalls Thiem. Their fans would have liked to celebrate Lower Austria, playing like the Grand Slam winner in Austria for the first time, but the pandemic creates an absurd situation: Vienna will have the busiest tournament since the start of the event in 1974, but in front of so few viewers as ever before.

Thiem on ATP Vienna: “Most valuable title after US Open”

With Novak Djokovic, an absolute superstar arrives in Vienna for the third time for the first time in 13 years: in the round of 16 in 2006, winner of the tournament in 2007. The dream final would also be a repeat of this year’s Australian Open final . Djokovic had defeated Dominic Thiem in five sets after a 1: 2 deficit.

It is clear to him that defending the title will be particularly difficult for Thiem, mainly due to the strong field and also after the rigors of the two Grand Slam tournaments almost immediately one after the other. He doesn’t seem to expect to be able to defend his “most valuable title after the US Open” right away. “I hope I can do it again at some point.”

Thiem was looking forward to good training days until his first appearance on Tuesday (“Thiemstag”), as (today) Friday the 27-year-old Austrian has been in the security “bubble”. That means staying alone in the hotel, resort and protected areas and this time not “sleeping at home”. “It will be a little different than in recent years, but it is still the tournament at home and I have incredible memories.” The Japanese Kei Nishikori, who is ranked 34th in the ATP ranking, awaits the exit.

Thiem warns about Nishikori: “a lot of difficult people”

Dominic Thiem commented on his tournament draw at home on Saturday afternoon. “Nishikori is a tough group, but of course that was to be expected. The grid is a completely different league there,” Thiem said. He hadn’t seen his first opponent play in a long time. Nishikori was recently injured and is playing with a “protected ranking”.

His coach Nicolas Massu will watch videos of the latest Nishikori tournaments. “He is a true champion, of course, a crazy player. Of course, I hope he is not in the form he was two or three years ago. But I will make sure I have a good preparation training and then I will be there on Tuesday.”

Jurij Rodionov, who was only 21 years old, was full of joy, regardless of the opponent. “I was very happy that Herwig (Straka, note) told me that I would get the wild card from the main field. It is a great opportunity,” said Lower Austria. Given the strong field of participants, he would “agree with the newspaper against each of the underdog” and now it is Denis Shapovalov’s turn. “He is one of the most dangerous players on the tour. However, I will play 110 percent, give my last jersey and try to make everyone proud. I am looking forward to the match.”

Erste Bank Open: an overview of the giveaway