Dominic Thiem was honoured to make his debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and gained a legion of new fans in London.
The 23 year old, the youngest player in the field, wielded his all-court game to test defending champion Novak Djokovic in an enthralling 6-7(10), 6-0, 6-2 battle. Despite having played tennis all over the world, Thiem thrived in his new surroundings at The O2 arena.
“The crowd was very nice. It was a really good atmosphere. Seventeen thousand I think is by far the biggest crowd I ever played,” reflected the Austrian. “I think they are also excited to see some new faces at this tournament. That's why I guess they cheered a lot for me.
“It's a very good experience for me to play three matches against Top 10 players. Compared to the last few tournaments, it was a very good match for me today.”
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The World No. 9 was 0-3 in his Fedex ATP Head2Head record against the all-conquering Serbian.
However Thiem, at the seventh time of asking, clinched the opener with a bullet forehand following a pulsating tie-break in 76 minutes.
“It was a very good and very intense first set,” added Thiem. “It lasted as long as sometimes a two-set match will last. Of course, it was intense.”
Under the guidance of coach Gunter Bresnik, Thiem has demonstrated he can outlast many opponents in 2016. Before the tournament he led the ATP World Tour with a 21-2 record in decisive-set matches this season but could not contain a resurgent Djokovic.
“After that (first set), I lost a little bit of energy, which is required against a guy like Novak to play close and good sets,” Thiem said. “I came back, obviously found the energy, but the beginning of the third set he was playing well. I couldn't quite keep the level up from the first set.”
As a result Thiem is eager to rediscover his electric shot-making from the first set against Djokovic for his next two round-robin matches.
“There are so many things to improve. Of course, I want to play two more good matches, then I will see what the outcome is,” maintained Thiem. “If I keep the level from the first set, it's not a guarantee that I will win the match, but I will have chances.”