Dominic Thiem

[Damian]

[arti]

“As long as Rafa is playing, he will always be the No. 1 favourite on clay. He's by far the best player ever on this surface. One win more or less is not going to change this fact,” said Thiem. “But I think after him, there is a small group of players which can go very far at each clay-court tournament and I think I'm in this group as well.

“Roger is also one of the best players on this surface of all time. The only thing that stopped him so many times is Rafa. Probably if Rafa wouldn't be there, he would win five or six Roland Garros titles,” said Thiem. “I think he also feels comfortable on the surface. He grew up on it in Switzerland, he knows how to move on it. It doesn't matter where or which tournaments he plays. He will always be one of the favorites.”

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/thiem-m ... 19-preview

[Lucas]

1. Thiem Hands Nadal First-Ever Barcelona SF, 27 April

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Dominic Thiem stuck to his aggressive game plan against Rafael Nadal to beat the 11-time Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell champion 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday and reach the ATP 500 final.

It's the fourth time in as many years Thiem has beaten Nadal on clay, and the first time Nadal has lost in the semi-finals or finals of his home tournament. The Spaniard had been 22-0 in matches and 46-1 in sets during Barcelona semi-finals and finals.

But Thiem, who was the only player to beat Nadal on clay in 2017 and 2018, played fearlessly once more against the top seed, pinning the Spaniard behind the baseline and pounding inside-out forehands. He joined Novak Djokovic as the only players to have beaten Nadal on clay four times.

“I'm always super proud if I beat him because he's the best player ever on this surface, and it's always very special to beat him here on clay. We always had great matches in the past, and also today was very good and I was more lucky today and I got the win,” Thiem said.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/thiem-n ... april-2019

[Damian]

[Razing]

[Damian]

Thiem Extends Winning Streak, Faces Federer Next

Spoiler:

Austrian looking for his first clay-court ATP Masters 1000 title
Dominic Thiem pushed his winning streak to seven on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open, beating Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion Fabio Fognini 6-4, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals in Spain.

The two-time defending finalist won 80 per cent of his service points and broke Fognini twice to hold off the 31-year-old Italian, who, at No. 12, is on the doorsteps of cracking the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time.

You May Also Like: Thiem Topples Federer For Maiden Masters Title
Thiem won his biggest clay-court title last month at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, beating Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final to take the ATP 500 title. In March, Thiem won his first ATP Masters 1000 championship at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells with victory over Roger Federer in the final.

The fifth-seeded Austrian will face a rematch with Federer on Friday. Thiem leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against the Swiss 3-2, including a victory the last time they played on clay, 12 May 2016 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Before Federer returned to the surface this week in Madrid, his loss to Thiem had been his most recent clay-court match.

Read: Thiem Upsets Federer To Reach Rome QF (May 2016)


More Stories Like This In: M

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/thiem-f ... 9-thursday

[arti]

[Damian]

Madryt19: 10. ćwierćfinał M-1000.

[5] Dominic Thiem d. [10] Fabio Fognini 6-4 7-5

[arti]

[Damian]

Thiem Saves 2 M.P. To Beat Federer In Madrid Thriller

Spoiler:

Austrian will play Djokovic on Saturday

Dominic Thiem hung tough and saved two match points on Friday in an enthralling and dramatic 3-6, 7-6(11), 6-4 victory over three-time former champion Roger Federer at the Mutua Madrid Open in two hours and 11 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Austrian, who has finished runner-up at this ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the past two years, saved match points at 7/8 and 9/10 in the second set tie-break and carried the momentum into the deciding set with a service break — on his ninth opportunity — in the third game. Fourth seed Federer broke back for 4-4, but on break point in the next game, when approaching the net, rued letting a Thiem forehand return go by.

Read Federer Reaction: 'Losing With Match Points Is The Worst'

Thiem, victor over Federer for his first Masters 1000 crown in the BNP Paribas Open final on 17 March, will now look to extend his eight-match winning streak against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, the 2011 and 2016 Madrid titlist, on Saturday. The 25-year-old Thiem is 2-5 against the Serbian, but has won their past two meetings in the 2017 Roland Garros quarter-finals and last year’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters third round.

“The test today was huge and tomorrow is a different game, of course,” said Thiem. “But I was playing Novak last year, and two years ago, and he was not at his best, I guess. Now he is again. He's won the last three Grand Slams and he is at the top of the ATP Ranking again. So the challenge couldn't be bigger… I'll try to keep up my good momentum which I have now and give my best again.”

Earlier in the day, 2011 and 2016 champion Djokovic advanced to his 62nd ATP Masters 1000 semi-final without striking a ball when ninth seed Marin Cilic withdrew due to food poisoning.

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Just like against Gael Monfils on Thursday, in the 1,200th match win of his career, Federer got off to a fast start by taking a 3-0 lead — breaking serve when Thiem made a forehand error in the second game. After five service games, Federer had lost five points and Thiem was treading water too deep behind the baseline. Federer wrapped up the 30-minute opener when Thiem struck a forehand long (his 11th error).

Federer came under pressure early in the second set, but his first serve and natural attacking instincts came to the rescue – twice in the second game from 15/40 and again at 2-3, 0/40. While Thiem was solid on serve, Federer dictated with his forehand in long rallies by positioning himself in the Ad court.


Thiem made consecutive errors at the start of the tie-break, but battled back from 0/3 down to win six of the next seven points. Serving at 6/5, Thiem was left flat-footed as Federer disguised a backhand drop shot and the Austrian was left kicking himself at 7/6 when he overcooked a forehand. Federer went for broke at 8/7 on a forehand return; a third set point went begging for Thiem at 9/8 and he needed a big forehand to save a second match point for Federer at 9/10. Federer saved a fifth set point with a first serve at 10/11, but Thiem was not to be denied on serve at 12/11 with an aggressive forehand/smash combination.

Thiem found his forehand range, pinning Federer behind the baseline early in the decider. Finally able to get a look on a second serve, Thiem made his move in the third game when he broke Federer’s serve for the first time with successive forehands on his ninth break point chance. In what was becoming an encounter of fine margins, Federer responded immediately at 1-2, yet Thiem denied his Swiss opponent two break points.

Deep returns from Federer at 3-4 ensured there was to be another twist but, in the next game, Thiem locked in on return and set up three break points. Federer saved the first with a first serve out wide, the second with a high volley winner, but on approach to the net at 30/40, the Swiss left a forehand return that dropped inside the Ad court tramline.

Federer, who was playing his first clay-court tournament for three years, last beat a Top 10 player on red dirt at the 2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome (Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals). Today marks the 21st time that Federer has held a match point(s) and lost. It is the first time that Federer lost a match after having match point since the 2018 Wimbledon quarter-finals, when he fell to Kevin Anderson 13-11 in the fifth set. In his last visit to Madrid in May 2015, Federer lost to Nick Kyrgios in three tie-breaks in their second-round clash after holding two match points.

This year, Federer won the 100th title of his career at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (d. Tsitsipas) in February and won his 28th Masters 1000 trophy at the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Isner) in March. He is now 20-3 in 2019.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/federer ... 019-friday

[Damian]

Madryt19: 6. półfinał M-1000.

[5] Dominic Thiem d. [4] Roger Federer 3-6 7-6(11) 6-4

[arti]

Thiem: 'I Cannot Beat These Guys Every Single Time'

Spoiler:

Dominic Thiem has been playing some of the best tennis of his career over the past couple months, from winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open to sweeping his way to the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell trophy without losing a set, including an impressive win against Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.
So although the Austrian fell in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Saturday, he’s keeping the loss in perspective.
“I never complain about [reaching a Masters] 1000 semi-final. It's a very good result. I beat three very good players and I lost 6 and 6 to Djokovic,” Thiem said. “I know that I won't beat these players every day. But it was a very good tournament.”

You May Also Like: Djokovic Beats Thiem To Reach Third Final In Madrid

Thiem had been 3-0 in 2019 against Top 5 opposition entering his semi-final against Djokovic, including two victories against 101-time tour-level titlist Roger Federer. Defeating Djokovic wasn't outside the realm of possibility, too, given their match went to two tie-breaks. But the fifth seed was only able to convert three of his 10 break chances, while Djokovic broke at all three of his opportunities.
“To beat these players, Novak or Rafa, you need to have to have a little luck, this momentum going for you, and that was not the case today. Some break points for me were a little bit unlucky and some of them I missed, which I usually don't do,” Thiem said. “[In the] second set also, he played an unbelievable game. I broke him in a 15-minute game and he broke me back with an unbelievable game. That was also not the best for my momentum. In general, it was a good match and I cannot beat these guys every single time, so it's fine.”
It was almost as if Thiem brought out the best in Djokovic at the Caja Magica. There were moments when the 25-year-old’s aggression seemed it would overwhelm the Serbian, but Djokovic dug deep with incredible defence and returning.
“His level is always pretty high. I think, of course, today he played very good. I think if he would have played like this the previous tournaments, he wouldn't have these kind of bad results for him,” Thiem said of Djokovic, who had not advanced past the quarter-finals in his three tournaments before Madrid. “But I think the closer it comes to the Grand Slams, the better he'll play and we are pretty close to the French Open, so he's coming to his 100 per cent again.”
Thiem didn't wait long to shrug off the disappointment. He joined Argentine Diego Schwartzman on the doubles court shortly after his loss, as the friends beat Argentine Guido Pella and Portuguese Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-2 to reach the final.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/thiem-m ... f-reaction

[arti]

Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem advanced to their second final of the 2019 season on Saturday, beating Guido Pella and Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-2 at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Schwartzman and Thiem, who reached the Argentina Open championship match in February (l. to Gonzalez/Zeballos), saved all four break points they faced to advance after 57 minutes. The Argentine-Austrian tandem dropped just five points behind its first serves (23/28) to set a final meeting with Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/schwart ... s-saturday

[Razing]

[Damian]

[arti]

Dominic In Form: Thiem has won eight of his past nine matches, including a run to the Barcelona title without dropping a set — and a win there against Nadal — as well as advancing to the Madrid semi-finals. The Austrian also claimed his maiden Masters 1000 crown earlier this year at the BNP Paribas Open.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/rome-20 ... ing-report

[arti]

Przez ostatnie lata Dominic Thiem charakteryzował się tym, że spośród tenisistów ze ścisłej światowej czołówki występował najczęściej. W obecnym sezonie to się jednak zmieniło. W tym roku Austriak wziął udział w tylko - jak na niego - dziewięciu turniejach. Dziesiątym będą aktualnie rozgrywane zawody w Rzymie.

- To prawda, że w tym roku zdecydowałem się grać w mniejszej liczbie turniejów i starać się przygotowywać najlepiej jak to możliwe do tych najważniejszych - mówił na konferencji prasowej w stolicy Włoch, cytowany przez portal puntodebreak.com. - Myślę, że to dla mnie dobre, bo od imprezy w Indian Wells osiągam bardzo dobre wyniki.

https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/tenis/82174 ... mnie-dobre

[jaccol55]

[Razing]

[Damian]