they were facing Daniil Medvedev y Dominic Thiem in the second round of Vienna ATP 500, so there was no need to ask what the game of the day was. But was it really? At times yes, with a reborn Austrian who shone again in his best shots. The problem was that this moment of fulfillment not only did not lead to victory, but it barely lasted an hour on the track. The consistency of the Russian ended up being essential (6-3, 6-3) to leave us with a cold score, but several concepts that are worth highlighting below.
Anyone who saw this pairing, not having followed tennis much this past year, was bound to jump in surprise. And I would give another to see that between Thiem and Medvedev there are currently 109 positions apart in the ATP ranking. This was the big question that we asked ourselves from the armchair, if the difference on the track was going to be the one that marked the classification or was it a cheat round. Because, honestly, the Daniil of the last few months has nothing to do with the one in 2021, but the fact is that the Dominic of the last tournaments doesn’t look like the one at the beginning of the year either. The feeling is that the Russian did not finish waking up and that the Austrian came stronger every week. If you also thought so, then you are one of those who got a double joy after witnessing the first six games of the match.
First for getting it right, for perfectly understanding the situation of each one. And second and more importantly, to see that Thiem is getting closer every day to being the super player that he was for so many years. Serving precisely, daring with the backhand and hitting the forehand without fear, all this added to a positive inertia that he carries after having reached the semifinals in his last events: Gijón and Antwerp. But of course, the problem was that today the party was in the round of 16 and on the other side of the net there was a former world number 1, one of those tennis players who you don’t want to cross even in the dining room. Both being able to develop their tennis from various perspectives, the Austrian opted fully for attacking tennis, so the Russian had no choice – and he was delighted – to go down the defensive path.
This is how a good part of the first set unfolded, with one player taking all the initiative – or winner or error– and the other waiting for his moment, acting as an octopus from the bottom of the track and preventing any ball from escaping. In the end, that solidity of the Moscow player ended up earning several break chances, achieving the goal in the seventh game. What we did not expect was that Thiem would have an option in the next game to return the draw, but the Russian’s great serve appeared there to impart order. Finally, Medvedev signed the perfect trilogy: break, confirmation and again break to start the second set on serve.
THE PARTY WAS ALREADY ANOTHER
Perhaps it was the game that both needed right now. One to go one step further, although for the moment it was not enough. As for Medvedev, what he needed most was to look powerful again against a great rival, without reaching 100% of him, but getting honors in what he does best: playing from the bottom. That changed the game in an obvious way, it was no use being in Vienna, although there were several lacks of respect on the part of the public towards the opponent. Thiem’s head – and also his physique – paid for the effort of such a demanding duel. He lowered his arms slightly when he was overtaken by a rival who barely gave him anything (only 5 unforced errors in the first hour) and also counterattacked every dart of his rival. At times he reminded us how good he was, that some had already forgotten.
The first two games of the second set confused us, for a moment we thought that the battle was still the same, but the Russian quickly went straight ahead with his off-road game to take the lead 4-1 and put an end to all the doubts that were planned in the environment. What conclusions do we draw? That Thiem still has a bit left to return to his fullness and that desired top100. And above all, that Medvedev still has that aroma of champion with which to add wins like this, despite signing a gray season with hardly any joy. We all sign that, in a few months, both will be eating at the same table as always.
