Played Muster? 26 year age gap in this match in 2011 when Thiem wasn't even on the radar, I think I first heard of Thiem at Rotterdam in 2014, he's fast becoming one of my favourite players.
Played Muster? 26 year age gap in this match in 2011 when Thiem wasn't even on the radar, I think I first heard of Thiem at Rotterdam in 2014, he's fast becoming one of my favourite players.
Two years later at the same tournament he was a 3rd set TB away from the SFs but lost the deciding frame to #1 seed JWT. That loss may have given him the confidence to enter 2014 with the belief he could compete at ATP level. Beginning in Doha, he qualified 7 out of 8 times, including your Rotterdam mention, and won 1R 6 of 7 times. His sole qualie fail was a 3rd set TB loss to Goffin in Acapulco, a tournament he would win two years later.
Played Muster? 26 year age gap in this match in 2011 when Thiem wasn't even on the radar, I think I first heard of Thiem at Rotterdam in 2014, he's fast becoming one of my favourite players.
I was just starting to play tennis back then, and I hated him (and anyone else I saw as being in the way of Sampras winning a French Open), but I respected his game enough to model my own after it. He was an absolute beast and now one of my all-time faves.
Played Muster? 26 year age gap in this match in 2011 when Thiem wasn't even on the radar, I think I first heard of Thiem at Rotterdam in 2014, he's fast becoming one of my favourite players.
He made a return to challengers (all via WCs, of course) to prove he could still win a match, it seems. Dunno why he felt like proving it. Amazingly, he actually managed to beat a decent player, Leo Mayer 4-6 7-5 6-3. I imagine it must've been a serious choke lol... as an MTF comment put it, Muster had forgotten more about clay tennis than Mayer ever knew.
I was just starting to play tennis back then, and I hated him (and anyone else I saw as being in the way of Sampras winning a French Open), but I respected his game enough to model my own after it. He was an absolute beast and now one of my all-time faves.
@Goof So happy to see another fan of Muster. I was able to see him play live 3 or 4 times, but never on clay. He really should have won a couple more of these: