Dominic Thiem was defeated by Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the US Open, but he could also be proud. There was praise from all sides for the Austrian.
In the belly of Arthur Ashe Stadium the hymns of praise just pelted into Dominic Thiem. There was consolation from friend Kristina Mladenovic, who had visibly gone to his kidneys in a memorable and sultry New York night.
“Tennis can be cruel,” said Thiem after the 6:0, 4:6, 5:7, 7:6 (7:4), 6:7 (5:7) bravely and said: “I will surely remember this match forever. I don’t think the game deserves a loser today. And no one liked to disagree with the French Open finalist of 2018, who played tennis from another star in the first 24-minute set.
Thiem does with Nadal what Nadal normally does with his opponents,” said four-time US Open winner and ESPN expert John McEnroe in the opening round and was also very impressed by the fitness of the ninth in the world rankings: “Very strong!
“Domi” had gotten his head together again at the press conference and analyzed aptly at a quarter to three in the night: “I’d say this was the first really epic match I’ve played. I played some good ones before, but not so long, and not so long against the best people at Grand Slam level,” Thiem explained. He was “happy” that he had succeeded in doing so for the first time, “even if it went in the wrong direction.
Defending champion Nadal, who had held Thiem to himself for a long time after the match point, also took his hat off to the 24-year-old. “He did everything he could to win the match, but so did I,” said Nadal, who had never been on the pitch in Flushing Meadows for so long: “In the end, it was a matter of luck, and I had that on my side. It was a great match in a great atmosphere.”
Thiem coach Günter Bresnik commented on his protégé’s first set: “Great,” but also said: “In the end, it was disappointing that he didn’t miss the third set – and then took a break to 7-5”. But all in all, Thiem played “well”, said Bresnik, who was particularly satisfied with the Lichtenwörther’s backhand: “He really beat many winners today”.