“Few Points That Decided Heaven or Hell” – Dominic Thiem Reflects on Stellar ATP Finals 2019 Performance

Dominic Thiem has overcome the injury that halted his progress in his home ATP event in Vienna. The 2019 finalist at the ATP Finals is all set to travel to London to cap off his most successful year on Tour, which saw him lift the US Open 2020.

Thiem highlighted his ATP Finals 2020 goals and threw light on the challenges of the event. “On Wednesday I am leaving for London with a “mini-team“. The final goal of 2020, the memories of last year are nice!” Thiem said as he gears up for the event.

Those memories from last year include defeating both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Round Robin stage of the event. The Austrian star defeated Federer 7-5, 7-5 to open his campaign, before edging Djokovic 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5), in one of the best matches of the year.

Dominic Thiem reminisces a memorable match

He entered the semi-finals with a clean sweep of the group stage and then defeated good friend Alexander Zverev in the final. Thiem fell short in the final to Stefanos Tsitsipas in another three-set thriller.

“I had that 6:7 in the third set against Stefanos Tsitsipas. It were just a few points that decided heaven or hell,” Thiem said, reminiscing that match.

Speaking about his recovery from the recent injury, Thiem said, “It took me two, three days to recover. Then I started my preparation for the final in London at the O2-Arena.”

A tough week for the US Open champion

It has just been over a week since his loss in Vienna, but Thiem revealed it was an eventful one. His coach Nicolas Massu narrowly escaped the recent terror attacks in Vienna. Thiem said that Massu was in a nearby restaurant at the time of the attack and was locked up there till very late in the night.

“Suddenly life was at a halt in Austria. Very, very, sad,” Thiem expressed.

Thiem said he will grace the ‘Athletes of the Year’ award ceremony in Austria before traveling to London. With the year he had, Thiem is in for some major honors there.

The world number three will be keen to replicate last year’s performance in London and take it a step further this year. However, he will come across certain challenges as Djokovic and Nadal will be there, along with Tsitsipas. After Sunday’s Rolex Paris Masters 2020 win, Daniil Medvedev will also pose a serious threat.

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