“In general it was a really great match, everything went well today,” said Thiem happily after his sixth win in the 15th duel with Nadal. The world number three even went a step further in his game analysis. Thiem rates his performance higher than that of his triumph in Flushing Meadows. “To be honest, I think I played a bit higher today than at the US Open. That was maybe my best match since the restart of the tour ”, said the 17-time tournament winner.
Nadal was therefore not particularly disappointed after the defeat. “He played a great match and I played very well too. That’s why I don’t have a bad feeling, ”said the Spaniard, who even drew positive insights from the match. “I think that my chances are even better of having a very good result here than five days ago. Because my level is much better, even if I’ve lost, ”said the 13-time Paris winner.
Thiem beats Nadal
Dominic Thiem has defeated the 20-time major winner Rafael Nadal at the ATP finals in London for the second time in a row. The Lower Austrian won in two sets.
Strong nerves after match balls awarded
For Thiem it was the first duel with Nadal in the hall. From the beginning, a high-class game developed, which, to Thiem’s regret, was in front of empty stands in the O2-Arena. In the decisions of both sentences, Thiem had the better end for himself, with which he won the last five tiebreaks against the Spaniard. “I would not overestimate that,” said Thiem. “There are sure to be tiebreaks that I will lose.”
Before the victory was certain, the 27-year-old missed three match points with a score of 5: 4 and serve Nadal. But Thiem did not let that throw him off track either and continued his game mercilessly. “That was relatively easy to digest because he fended off all three of them really well,” said the world number three, who could advance to second with a tournament victory.
Duels against “Big three” are “worth gold”
Although victories against one of the “Big Three” are no longer a sensation, they still mean a lot to Thiem. “It is still a huge privilege to play against these people because they are simply the three best players of all time,” said Thiem Nadal, Federer and Djokovic Rosen. “The more matches I play against them, the better it is for my game because matching up with them is probably the best training there is. Such matches are worth gold for your self-confidence, for the whole game. “
Thiem was particularly happy with his backhand in the game against Nadal. He trained a lot on this during the coronavirus break. “It’s really paying off now. These are things that make me really happy, because you can see how the hard work pays off. ”And despite his gala performance, Thiem sees enough room for improvement. “I still want to improve, and I still have a lot to improve, especially when attacking the net,” said Thiem and added: “That is my goal for the next pre-season.”
ATP World Tour Finals in London
(Great Britain, $ 5.7 million, indoor, hard court)
