Dominic Thiem has reached the Round of 16 of the US Open 2018, beating Taylor Fritz from the USA in four sets.
By Jens Huiber from New York City
Towards the end of the third set Kristina Mladenovic also took a seat in the grandstand. Dominic Thiem’s girlfriend had been engaged in doubles before, with Timea Babos she only gave away two games. And what Mladenovic got to see was a very solid performance by Thiem, who, like last year, entered the fourth round of the US Open.
Austria’s number one had her hands full with Taylor Fritz, but after a playing time of hours, after a 3:6, 6:3, 7:6 (5) and 6:4, she was the deserved winner. In the round of 16, either Denis Shapovalov or the South African Kevin Anderson will be waiting.
Shoulder to shoulder, Thiem and his opponent were still standing on the grandstand in the morning, fighting with hitting partners for their third round match. Thiem again drew on Chun Sin Tseng, a young Taiwanese man who intends to make history in New York City: Tseng won the junior competitions in Paris and Wimbledon, but only lost to Sebastian Korda in the final at the Australian Open.
Fritz started the match very offensively, played more often, but mostly at least on the baseline. The Grandstand was filled to the last seat, a situation that Thiem had to deal with a year ago. At that time, however, the Argentine fans Juan Martin del Potro prepared a home game, this time the audience was characterised by exemplary fairness.
One break was enough for each of the two opponents to split the first two set wins. In the third set Fritz presented a break, Thiem got the 2:3 with a spectacular, short forehand cross, which even made Günter Bresnik jump up. The head coach, however, accepted the fact that his protégé immediately gave up his serve again. For Thiem, however, a net roller from Fritz was enough to smash his bat to pieces.
How fair the Austrian played his matches, on the other hand, became clear a few moments later: A serve of the American was judged too far, Fritz accepted the decision. Thiem advised him to take a challenge that led to success. Nevertheless, the 24-year-old from Lichtenwörth managed to equalize the score. And won the tiebreak with a concentrated serve performance.
In the fourth set Thiem was allowed to start with the serve, the break to 4:2 should ultimately remain the decisive one. The Austrian, who was seeded in ninth place, had to fend off two break points, but the plan to close the match in time was interrupted once again by a gentle shower of rain.
After an 18-minute break, however, Thiem did not let go and started the resumption with two aces. And then gave four points in a row, the last two with two double mistakes. Thiem was now unable to come to terms with himself, let everyone involved know – and nevertheless won his first match point with a fine forehand ball. Fritz put him out, Thiem was still allowed to accept the congratulations with satisfaction.