Dominic Thiem - ready for the season finish
Dominic Thiem is ready for the season finale. The Austrian has overcome his protracted illness and wants to attack fully at the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit:
Sep 29, 2019, 08:36 pm
"I'm ready for a great autumn". With these words Dominic Thiem underpins the wish to be able to call up his top performance again at the upcoming tournaments in Asia and Europe. The beginning should be made in the coming week at the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing.
In the first round of the hard court event, the Lichtenwörther meets Richard Gasquet. "It's going to be tough, he has one of the best backhands on the tour. So I see that I play a little more about the forehand," Thiem explains his match plan for the match that will take place on Tuesday. The balance does not read well for the world ranking fifth - Gasquet leads the direct comparison with 2: 0.
Double exposure in Beijing
Nevertheless, Thiem feels well prepared for the duel against the French. But this is by no means a guarantee of a good performance: "The only thing is that all the tournaments that I play from now on are incredibly staffed. That means that even if I play well, there is no guarantee of victory or a guarantee at any tournament, that I can get far. "
In fact, the tournament in Beijing has an excellent starting field. The last of the eight seeded players is Matteo Berrettini - the US Open semi-finalist is in 13th place in the world rankings. Great challenges await the top seeded Thiem in the Chinese capital - also in the double competition: Thiem is with the Italian Fabio Fognini play.
Thiem draws additional strength for the two tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai from the appearance at the Laver Cup: "That gave me a real push again." The week in Geneva was sensational, and the 26-year-old was finally able to train at the highest level in Switzerland.
No victory in Beijing yet
"I'm physically fit again and I can see that I'm playing a very good end to the season," said Thiem. He already had a first highlight in Asia this year - an exhibition in Wuhan against Fabio Fognini. The Austrian lost in the champions tie-break, but the trip according to the 26-year-old was worth the trip.
"The exhibition was not 100% serious, but it was a lot of fun. It was very good from a sporting point of view and it was also culturally valuable," said Thiem with complete satisfaction. A new encounter with Fognini in Beijing could only be in the semifinals - after the so far anything but good record in the Chinese capital (0: 2), this would be a strong start for the season finish 2019 for the Lichtenwörther.