Is it time for Thiem to end Djokovic’s run?
Dominic Thiem knows what it’s like to make it all the way through the rigors of a half-dozen best-offive-set matches across two weeks in order to reach a Grand Slam final — only to run into that particular tournament’s greatest champion.
It’s happening to Thiem at the Australian Open, where he will face defending champion Novak Djokovic for the title on Sunday.
Just like it happened to Thiem at the French Open, where he was the runner-up to Rafael Nadal each of the past two years. Djokovic already owns a record seven trophies from the hard courts of Melbourne Park. He’s a combined 15-0 in semifinals and finals in Rod Laver Arena.
“It’s absolutely his comfort zone here,” Thiem said.
Nadal has been even more prolific on the red clay of Roland Garros, going 24-0 in the last two rounds en route to his 12 championships there. If Thiem wins, he would be the first Grand Slam male singles champion born in the 1990s.
Nadal is known as the “King of Clay,” so Thiem joked after beating No. 7 seed Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4) in the semifinals Friday night that Djokovic is the “King of Australia,” then added: “I’m always facing the kings of a certain Grand Slam in the final.”
“We are playing in tough times, [us] young players,” added the 26-year-old Austrian. “We always have to beat all these unbelievable legends . ... But I try to take my experience that I made in the past two major finals and try to improve myself even more.’’
Also at stake for Djokovic on Sunday will be a 17th Grand Slam trophy overall, which would push him closer to the two men he is chasing: Nadal with 19, and record-holder Roger Federer with 20.
Djokovic won his semifinal against an ailing Federer (groin) in straight sets Thursday night, so he gets an extra day of rest before facing Thiem.
“Definitely one of the best players in the world. Deserves to be where he is,” Djokovic said of Thiem. “It seems like he’s improved his game a lot on hard courts, because his game is more suitable to the slower surfaces. The clay, of course, being his favorite surface.
“He definitely has the game. He has the experience now. He has the strength. He has all the means to really be there.”
Aside from his track record over the years in Australia, the 32-year-old Serb also can point to his more recent success: 16 consecutive sets have gone his way. Expect lots of lengthy points between the No. 2-seeded Djokovic and No. 5-seeded Thiem. Both are baseline bashers and tireless ball-retrievers. Djokovic’s return is superior. Thiem is better at the net and owns one of the most formidable one-handed backhands in the sport.
Djokovic leads the headto-head series 6-4, but Thiem has won four of their past five meetings, including the most recent, at the ATP Finals in November.
“I have to risk a lot. I have to go for many shots. At the same time, of course, not too much. That’s a very thin line,” Thiem said. “In the last match against him, I hit that line perfectly.”
It’s true that Thiem never had been past the fourth round in Melbourne until now. And he’s only once been as far as a quarterfinal, at the U.S. Open. But he has been getting better on outdoor hard courts, including confidence-boosting titles at Beijing and Indian Wells (beating Federer in the
2019 final).
The key to Thiem’s victory over No. 7 Zverev was the same as the key to his previous win over Nadal in the quarterfinals: coming through in the clutch. Thiem went a combined 5 for 5 in tiebreakers in those matches and saved 9 of 14 break points in the semifinal.
“In the important moments, I didn’t play my best. He did,” Zverev said. “He’s playing the best tennis of his life.’’
KENIN VS. MUGURUZA
The women’s final is early Saturday morning, with two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza of Spain taking on 14th-seeded Sofia Kenin, a Russian native from Pembroke Pines.
It’s Muguruza’s fourth Grand Slam final, including titles at the 2016 French Open and 2017 Wimbledon. The former No. 1 has dropped to 32nd and is unseeded. Kenin, 21, had never gone past the Round of 16 in a major before this stunning run.