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Dominic Thiem described his victory over Rafael Nadal in the group stage of the ATP Finals as “one of the best games I have played in my career”. Only a few weeks ago, the Austrian reached his first Grand Slam title, but according to him, his level at the “O2 Arena” was even higher than that shown at the US Open.
The two actually played one of the best matches of the season, and the team achieved success after a tiebreaker in both sets.
“Definitely yes. This is one of the best games I have played in my career. It is very close to the match with Djokovic last year in London. We both played at a great level and when that happened the result was this: it was a match That was decided by the details, maybe he was a little better in the first set, but I turned around with the mini-breaks in the tiebreaker and managed to win.
“It is very important to win the first set against Nadal, because his percentage of games won after the first set in his favor is incredible and makes it almost impossible to win. I was lucky to win the tiebreaker.
“The second set had it all. Nadal managed to break through, then I played one of the best games of the match to bring the breakthrough back. Then another tiebreaker. Definitely a great match that I will remember for a long time.
“Honestly, I think I played at a higher level than the US Open today. Maybe this was my best match since the restart of the season. That makes me very happy. It was not easy to come back after the US Open and Roland Garros, I was emotionally nervous, then I played at home in Vienna with a small injury. It was not easy. Now I am 100% recovered. I prepared well for London and I am happy with the way I play.
The team also spoke frankly about the importance of their rights setback during the match, with which they constantly attacked the Spanish reaction. “I trained this shot long before the restart of the season, I’m very happy because it works for me. I think this is a shot that I can do so easily only on fast courts against Nadal, where the ball does not bounce that high. On glue is Impossible to do. His topspin is too aggressive. Here the pavement is faster and his ball doesn’t bounce as high. I knew he had to hit this way to get a chance and luckily it worked.
Regarding the three match points lost in the second set at 5-4, the team commented that this had no negative impact. “It is clear that you are a little nervous because you have the opportunity to close the game, but he played three impressive points. Two very good first serves and a second serve that surprised me. He made a great volley, there was nothing he could do. I did not lose. Not a single match ball, he saved them very well as a game. I told myself that I shouldn’t reduce the intensity and I should play my best in the next game. “
At the beginning of its career, Team was considered a clay specialist, but now almost no one doubts its incredible class and toughness. However, he believes that they can be improved further. “I think I raised my hard level a lot at the end of last year when I started the Asian tour and won Vienna. I played very well in the ATP Finals and also in Australia at the beginning of the year. I managed to keep this level after the break, I had a lot of time to I train a lot of things. I want to keep improving. There are a lot of things to improve, especially to finish the online playouts better. That is my goal for the next preparation. “
The team was also involved in the debate over whether Grand Slam matches should continue to be 3 of 5 sets or, as Novak Djokovic suggests, 2 of 3 sets.
However, the Austrian wants to keep everything in its current form: “For me, things are working perfectly now. I think Grand Slam tournaments should remain 3 out of 5 sets. It is a tradition, it has always been that way and it is something. that makes them special. At the same time, I think it’s very good that here and at the Masters 1000 level we play 2 out of 3 sets. For example, if today’s game were five sets, it would be very difficult to recover for the next game after four hours on the court. I also like the fact that each Grand Slam tournament has its own way of ending the fifth set. Personally, I would like everything to continue as it is now. “
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