Dominic Thiem produced an early contender for the shock of the tournament as he defeated Roger Federer 7-5, 7-5 in the ATP Finals at the 02 Arena on Sunday evening.
The Austrian is one of the few players who has beaten Federer more times than he’s lost to him and his confidence from previous meetings with the Swiss great showed – demonstrating an aggressive style of tennis throughout.
It was this aggressiveness that forced uncharacteristic errors from Federer who didn’t look as sharp or confident as his counterpart.
Strong Start
The 26-year-old got off to the perfect start winning the first three points of the match on his opponents serve, before closing out the early break.
The usually unflappable Federer looked uncomfortable in the early ground-stroke exchanges as Thiem demonstrated great confidence and power from behind the baseline.
However, the startled atmosphere at the 02 soon turned to ecstasy as the 20-time Grand Slam winner broke back assertively in the fourth game with his own baseline prowess on display.
From 2-2, the pair shared the next six games on serve, but the attractive style employed by Thiem started catch the attention of the crowd, and as his popularity increased, so did his success.
Thiem returned from the change of ends at 5-5 with a heightened intensity as he rushed into a 0-30 lead on Federer’s serve. Despite Federer leveling the game up at 30-30, he held his nerve as he ripped a forehand winner past Federer to allow him the chance to serve for the first set.
Despite a stunning backhand pass by Federer at 0-30 down in the 12th game, Thiem never looked flustered at the prospect of serving for the first set, as a Federer unforced error gave the Austrian a surprise lead, taking the opener 7-5.
Cool, Calm, Composed
Both players looked comfortable on their serve early in the second until Thiem had to show great resolve in the fourth. Facing a break point and an aggressive Federer, the number five seed showed great defensive tenacity as he somehow managed to take the game to deuce before leveling up the second at two apiece.
The second set then took a similar pattern to that of the first with both players at ease on serve before Thiem again made his move in the 11th game.
A backhand winner gave the French Open finalist three break points and the break was completed by yet another Federer unforced error.
Despite Federer’s best efforts to send the second to a tie-break, he was unable to convert his break point opportunity, and Thiem’s famous win was secured by an unreturned serve.
Down But Not Out
With the defeat to Thiem, Federer has to beat Novak Djokovic to stand any chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds.
Thiem was happy with his “great” performance after the match and paid tribute to the arena and his opponent during his interview with the BBC.
“It’s overwhelming and breath-taking to enter this arena when it’s packed.”
“We had a good and close match, and it’s always special to beat Roger, who is a legend. It’s amazing to play against probably the best player of all time, but luckily I have a pretty good record against him. “
“The games when I had to serve are always a struggle, you don’t get any presents from him. I’m very happy that I pulled through the last game.”
“Dominic Thiem” by Carine06 is licensed under CC BY-SA
