[ad_1]
Andrey Rublev hat Dominic Thiem expelled from the Erste Bank Open in the quarterfinals. The Russian confirmed his impressive condition and won with 7: 6 (5) and 6: 2. (You can read the game’s live ticker). In the semifinals, the eighth place in the world will be found Kevin Anderson.
by Michael Rothschädl
Last edit: October 30, 2020, 5:54 pm
By Michael Rothschädl of the Wiener Stadthalle
In any other ATP 500 event on the ATP pros’ traveling circus calendar, such a showdown would only have occurred in a possible warm-up. At the Erste Bank Open 2020, Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev should already meet in the quarterfinals. The number two against the number five of the tournament, the US Open champion against the four-time winner of the tournament in the current season.
Dominic Thiem had spoken before about an “extremely difficult task” and called the Russian one of the “five best players in the world” today. Rublev is one of his more frequent sparring partners on the tour, with his fast and uncompromising game a man with whom you can always find a good rhythm. But if someone shoots off the pitch, they are given control of the game.
Thiem calls for the first time
Both players started from the baseline at very high speed, while trying to take their opponent’s forehand out of the game as much as possible. In backhand duels, the hometown hero initially seemed to have a bit of an advantage, the Austrian reached two breakballs in the third game of the game, but Rublev was able to thwart each with good serves. Meanwhile, the defending champion was able to count on very strong support from the stands, even though they were very sparsely packed with 1000 spectators.
The 23-year-old Rublev’s forehand, against which Thiem had warned in advance, did not work in the opening phase with the same degree of self-evidence that had recently brought the big hits to eighth in the world ranking, time and time again. fairly avoidable mistakes followed after winning shots. Dominic Thiem, on the other hand, missed some half chances in the first set with some avoidable return errors. As a result, none of the players managed to put pressure on the server – a tiebreaker had to make the decision in the first set. In this, both players showed their best tennis, Thiem had two chances of the first mini-break, was unlucky once and made the wrong decision again with the save. And so it was Andrey Rublev who took the mini break and was able to use his second set with an ace.
Andrey Rublev’s sensational quote
The Russian, who only reached the top 10 in the world rankings this week, carried this momentum with him to the second set. Rublev did not allow anything with his own serve, the 23-year-old showed up awake at the Austrian’s service games. With a remarkable inside-in right hand, the Russian secured the first break of the match at 2-1 in the second round. Now all went well for the Moscow man, Rublev had completely eliminated the mistakes in the first sentence, Thiem had lost control of the match. The Russian also struck in the world’s number three’s next service game, Rublev hitting the double break with a double fault.
Dominic Thiem was no longer fully involved in the matter, repeatedly grabbing his foot. During the match, however, it was not possible to determine whether it was an injury. The experts from the host station of the ServusTV tournament assumed a blister on the foot during the broadcast. Thiem shouldn’t find a way back to this match, Rublev played an excellent set and didn’t allow a single break opportunity. Although Lichtenwörther were able to defend against a match ball with his own serve, Rublev closed the catch with his own serve. After just over an hour and a half, the 23-year-old clinched the perfect 7: 6 (5) and 6: 2 victory.
Rublev in the semifinals against Anderson
“I was also a little happy this week, today I was lucky that Dominic had some problems with his foot. It was not our best game. I hope he recovers quickly and well for Paris and London,” said the young Russian. following your success. The world number eight has won his thirteenth consecutive match on the ATP circuit.
For Dominic Thiem, a series of seven suite victories at the Wiener Stadthalle comes to an end. Andrey Rublev, on the other hand, now meets Kevin Anderson, who surprisingly beat Daniil Medvedev in the first match of the day. In the night session, Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Sonego, as well as Grigor Dimitrov and Dan Evans, fight for the two remaining places in the semi-finals.
You can read the live ticker of the game.
Don’t miss any news!
Enable notifications:
Thiem Dominic