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Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates after winning the Men’s singles final match on day 9 of the 2019 China Open against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the China National Tennis Center on October 06, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Xinyu Cui/Getty Images)
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Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates after winning the Men’s singles final match on day 9 of the 2019 China Open against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the China National Tennis Center on October 06, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Xinyu Cui/Getty Images)
World No.3 Dominic Thiem is ready to steer Austria to a potential ATP Cup 2021 triumph. Austria had a bad run in the inaugural ATP Cup in 2020, but Thiem is ready to change that in 2021.
The potential difference between ATP Cup 2020 to 2021 is that Thiem is now a Grand Slam champion. The Austrian won his first Grand Slam at US Open 2020 and certainly now leads the Austrian team. In a recent press conference, Thiem was very confident about Austria’s chances.
“We definitely want to play well. I also think that we have good chances because we have a strong team.”
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(Quotes have been translated using Google Translate)
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Dominic Thiem celebrates with the US Open trophy. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Thiem will be accompanied by his close friend Dennis Novak in the Austrian camp. Novak is ranked 98th and is the second-highest ranked Austrian after Dominic.
In 2020, the onus was on Thiem to perform. Unfortunately, he underperformed, winning just one of his three matches. This pushed Austria to the bottom of their group and Thiem hopes he can do better this year.
“Last year it was a bit bitter because I was also well prepared and then played two poor games. I hope that I can do better this year.”
Dominic Thiem also has his father, Wolfgang Thiem, in the Austrian set-up. Wolfgang is the captain of the Austrian side and will lead the bunch of young guys.
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Who will Dominic Thiem play in the group stages of ATP Cup 2021?
At the ATP Cup 2021, Austria is drawn in Group C with Italy and France. Here Thiem will face Matteo Berrettini and Gael Monfils. And given Thiem’s stature now, he is a strong favorite in both games.
via Reuters
Tennis – A Day at the Drive Exhibition – Memorial Drive Tennis Club, Adelaide, Australia – January 29, 2021 Austria’s Dominic Thiem and Spain’s Rafael Nadal pose for a photograph after each receiving a boomerang after their match REUTERS/Morgan Sette
This year’s ATP Cup acts as an important warm-up to the Australian Open 2021. Like other players, Thiem also served the 14-day mandatory quarantine and is in dire need of match practice.
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Recently, Thiem looked good as he took part in the Adelaide exhibition event, ‘A Day at the Drive’ alongside Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. All eyes will be on him as he is on the brink of breaking the ‘Big 3’ triopoly.
Read More: What Roger Federer Needs to Do in Order to Dominate the Sport After His Comeback?
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