The Erste Bank Open 2018 ended with a bitter disappointment for local hero Dominic Thiem. On Friday afternoon, they lost 6-3, 6-1 to Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals. The 25-year-old analyzed the game dryly and self-critically, and showed three essential points, which led to the “Watsche”.
“I don’t even know what to say. I think that was a perfect match for me,” said Kei Nishikori after the match. The Japanese superstar reached the semi-finals in his first appearance at the Vienna Stadthalle.
The number five of the tournament dominated against Karen Khachanov before he played Dominic Thiem against the wall in the quarter-finals and became the hottest contender for the tournament victory.
“He wasn’t at his best. He made some mistakes that made it easy for me in return games,” said Nishikori. “There was a bit of luck in that, too.”
Even in his analysis after his second quarter-final in Vienna after 2013, Thiem did not want to accept that. “He played really well throughout the match,” he scattered Nishikori Rosen. “This is a player guy who can hurt me extremely. Because he takes everything very early, my weapons are defused. I can’t raise my spin game the way I want.”
After only 20 minutes Thiem was already 5:0 on Friday. Even a short rebellion at the end of the first set did not change the fact that Nishikori was clearly superior to his opponent in the end. To play against the US Open finalists of 2016 is a bit like playing against David Goffin, with whom Thiem is also reluctant to compete.
“There were a few things that didn’t work for me that are extremely important for my game,” said the ten-time ATP title holder. On the one hand, the odds on the first serve, which was especially important indoors, were not right. While Nishikori only brought the first services into the field in his first service game, not a single one landed at Thiem.
In such phases he tries to loosen the arm or change the throw of the ball. “That doesn’t always work,” Thiem said, but added self-critically: “Nevertheless, I should play so well from the baseline that I’m on level despite missing my first serves.”
Thiem explained the second reason for the clear defeat with a look at the statistics. Nishikori won more points on his second serves than on his first. “This is a sign to me that my return didn’t work well,” Thiem said.
He had also tried to counteract this. At the return, he moved a little further behind the baseline in order to play his game with higher spin balls. Nishikori had the perfect answer to this as well. “But he took my time,” Thiem again spoke about the early time of his opponent’s basic strokes.
Thirdly, Thiem was almost without a chance from the baseline as well. Only 26 percent of the points above the second serve went to Austria’s number one. “This is inferior by my standards,” he said angrily. That is too little against a top player like Nishikori. “Then I’ll get a slap like today’s.”
The defeat had a direct impact on the Race to London, the ranking that determines the eight best players at the end of the year. Nishikori passed John Isner and is now in ninth place, one place behind Thiem.
The latter assumes that the Japanese will score well in Vienna. “If Nishikori plays like in the last two rounds, he’s the top favourite for the tournament win,” he said.
However, he is not worried about a possible miss of the ATP Finals in London. “I see it as completely relaxed,” Thiem said. “If I qualify, I deserve it. If not, I haven’t been good enough all year. I’m going to gnaw at it a bit now, but when I get on the plane to Paris, it’s okay again,” said Thiem.
The last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year will take place there next week. In the first round, Thiem enjoys a walk-through as world number eight, followed by a Frenchman in any case.
The opponent is determined in the match between Lucas Pouille and Gilles Simon. Thiem has never been able to win against the former in two matches so far, he leads against Simon in the head-to-head with 7:2.
“Despite the match against Nishikori, I don’t want to get down,” Thiem looked forward to Paris full of expectation. “I have to accept that there are days when I get a clap.”
In Paris, Thiem will once again be able to call off a good performance, and the Masters in the French capital is “the tournament of surprises anyway. You never know what’s gonna happen.”