“Real Matches Are Always Something Different”: Boris Becker Skeptical of Dominic Thiem’s Chances at US Open

One of the biggest concern from the Western & Southern Open was Dominic Thiem. The Austrian was rather thrashed by Filip Krajinović 2-6 1-6 in the 2nd round and this performance has raised the legitimacy of his challenge for the US Open. Thiem is ranked 3rd and with the absence of Rafael Nadal is the 2nd highest ranked on the tour right now.

Everyone is expecting Dominic Thiem to challenge World No.1 Novak Djokovic after he almost defeated the Serbian in the Australian Open final. But that result in the Western & Southern Open has raised a lot of eyes on Thiem’s preparation for the US Open.

Boris Becker is skeptical of Thiem’s chances in the US Open. In an interview with Eurosport, he said that Thiem did play well in the Australian Open final but he didn’t win and so he still might not be able to beat Djokovic.

“I see it differently. Thiem played the final of the Australian Open well and could have won it – but didn’t do it. Dominic has not yet won a Grand Slam, Novak has already 17. There is still a difference.” Becker said

Boris Becker raises questions on Dominic Thiem’s US open preparation

Becker also reacted to Thiem’s loss in the Western & Southern Open. He raised his concerns with Thiem’s form as a World No.3 losing like that is not good. He played down the hype around Thiem because he only looked good in the exhibition matches. Competitive matches are different and in them, Thiem didn’t look good.

“He wasn’t really good against Krajinovic and afterward didn’t even really know why. The fact that the number three in the world loses 2: 6, 1: 6 is not a good sign and does not speak for his form. There is no question that Dominic played well in the summer exhibitions. But real matches are always something different. And you only get match fitness in tournaments.” Becker said

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Thiem had a few extra days to figure out what went wrong against Krajinović. Let’s see how he responds when he plays his first-round match on Tuesday.