Dominic Thiem will play on Thursday (not before 3:00 pm, in our LIVE-TICKER) to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP-World-Tour-500-Tournament in Hamburg. My opponent is Australian John Millman.
Dominic Thiem, as the Austrian likes to emphasize again and again, is a man who studies the draw at every tournament in detail, basically knows all possible branches on the way to the final right after the draw. At the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Hamburg, Thiem can get to know his potential quarter-final opponent very early: Nicolas Jarry is already in the last eight, the Chilean benefited from Richard Gasquet’s withdrawal.
Thiem had no problems in round one with Corentin Moutet, but was allowed to practice finding the rhythm for his backhand. The French left-hander massaged the left half of the court from Thiems point of view with topspin balls that could not embarrass the tournament favourite at Hamburg’s Rothenbaum.
John Millman, however, is now waiting for Thiem, who had the Lower Austrian twice on the brink of defeat: last Sunday on a small stage in the German Tennis Bundesliga, in 2016 in New York City theoretically on one of the biggest. In fact, the game took place on one of the few outdoor courts that had no Hawk Eye available. And in front of grandstands that had less spectators than the TC Weinheim on Sunday. Thiem was trailing with 1:2 sets, just in time.
Millman almost had to save the Australian Davis Cup honour at the beginning of the year, Nick Kyrgios’ defeat against Alexander Zverev saved the world’s current number 50 from this nervous tension. Millman has already won two tournaments on the Challenger Tour this year, with the Budapest final (defeat to Marco Cecchinato) at the highest level.
Dominic Thiem, on the other hand, has already brought home two winner’s cups from Buenos Aires and Lyon in 2017. Coach Günter Bresnik has travelled to Hamburg, as has Brother Moritz. The latter also accompanied Thiem last Monday to Wörschach, where Thiem returned for training on the occasion of the Adidas Club Challenge.
Thiem has already won two titles in the Hamburg category, in Acapulco and Rio de Janeiro. The 24-year-old can deal with the role of favourite, which will not leave him in the coming week either: Dominic Thiem will compete again at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel. And the grid will also be memorized there immediately after the draw.