Thiem looks past Rublev loss to semifinal on Saturday

ATP
Friday, 20 November 2020 at 10:30
Thiem_Dominic_USOpen2016

Despite losing to Andrey Rublev in his final round-robin match, Dominic Thiem remained atop Group London 2020 and has his sights set on the semifinals at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The Austrian fell to Rublev in his last group stage match, although the fate of both men was sealed prior to the start of the match. Rublev could not advance past the group stage as he held a 0-2 record, whereas Thiem had already qualified due to his 2-0 record. Nonetheless, the Russian pulled off the upset victory, to claim his sole win of the tournament.

“It was difficult to keep that amazing intensity that I had in the first two matches,” Thiem reflected after the match. “Obviously I wanted to win the match 100 per cent, but still, the first two matches were pretty tough and pretty long... Whenever I’m not at 110 per cent at this tournament, there’s no chance against any player.”

“Especially after those two tough encounters against Stefanos and Rafa, I was maybe not able to put up that 110 per cent, and then it’s impossible to win against any of the other players,” he added. “But the motivation was there, I was trying everything to win that match."

Thiem will face the winner between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in the semifinals on Saturday, with both men competing for the final spot in a blockbuster Friday matchup.

“Both of them Djokovic and Zverev are great, both are former champions of this tournament," admitted Thiem. "It doesn’t matter for me, the goal for me is to find that great intensity tomorrow in practice, and then try to be 100 per cent on Saturday, whoever I face.”

Click here for live scores and up-to-date results of the ATP Finals .  

claps 0visitors 3

Just In

Popular News