Dominic Thiems’ prospects for a starting place at the ATP Final in London have increased further: John Isner, one of his rivals, lost to Gael Monfils in the round of 16 of the Erste Bank Open 500 Gael Monfils.
Dominic Thiem himself set the course in his press conference after his victory against Sam Querrey: He had to keep his fingers crossed for Gael Monfils, Thiem explained in a relaxed chat, after all he was playing John Isner, who is currently ninth in the Race to London, one behind the Austrian number one.
Since it can be assumed that Juan Martin del Potro will probably not serve in the O2 Arena contrary to speculations to the contrary, ninth place will suffice this year. After the 4:6 and 4:6 against Gael Monfils (with the same result Thiem had defeated Querrey before) Isner will be overtaken by Kei Nishikori and lose more ground on Thiem. The two quarter-final opponents from Friday (not before 14:30, in our live ticker) take at least 90 points from the Vienna Stadthalle, Isner only 45.
To overtake the Austrian, Isner would have to make it to the final of the upcoming ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bércy. And that wouldn’t be enough either if Thiem continued to score well in Vienna. A few weeks ago, Günter Bresnik had issued the slogan that his protégé still needed 500 points for London. Well, they’re available at the Vienna Stadthalle.
Dominic Thiem last won against the Japanese US Open finalist from 2014 in the round of 16 in Paris, playing two sets long as if played by another tennis star. But the challenges will be very different from the success against Querrey, which Thiem also emphasized: “He only had to block many serves against the US player, he has to do more against Nishikori as a recoil. Thiem had minor problems in the first round against Ruben Bemelmans.
Here the single tableau in Vienna