Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem will face each other on Wednesday at the O2 Arena in a match which one of them has to win in order to book his place for the semi-finals.
For the Swiss maestro this would be his second appearance on the court after his loss to Kei Nishikori on Sunday in which the six-time champion couldn’t find his rhythm against a very determent Nishikori who won for the third time against Federer.
Thiem is also in a similar position like his opponent on Wednesday after losing in a great contest against South African Kevin Anderson on Sunday as well.
The Austrian is participating at the ATP Finals for third time in a row and will be looking to clinch his first win in London.
Head to Head
Surprisingly, both players have met only three times on the tour despite reaching the later stages of the majority of tournaments.
25-year old Thiem is leading the head-to-head encounter with the Swiss veteran 2-1. Their last meeting was more than two years ago in Stuttgart in which Thiem managed to beat Federer in a very tight three-set battle.
Federer goes back to the beginning of 2016 in Brisbane in which he claimed his one and only win to date against Thiem in the semi-finals 6-1 6-4.
Step Up
It is safe to say that both players will need to raise their game on Wednesday if they want a have chance to play at the semi-finals.
For Federer, the key changes would be his serve which is one of his best weapons which he didn’t manage to use that much against Nishikori, and his dominance from the baseline.
The main change for world no.8 Dominic Thiem would be his backhand and his movement against Federer. With Federer’s style being very close to the baseline, Thiem will need to make sure that moves well and attacks Federer’s backhand.
While it is difficult to think Federer would lose twice in a row at a tournament which he has won six times, it would be dangerous to bet against Thiem after seeing his performance against Kevin Anderson on Sunday.
