How Thiem Winning the US Open will impact the Future of Tennis and Slam Race

M

Micheal Federer

Rookie
We already see he has the game to defeat both Nadal and Djokovic in Slams. But what has been the major issue has been the belief and mental aspect to do it in a slam final.If Thiem wins the US Open, then it could lead to a very much anticipated French Open with Thiem going in as a Slam winner and second favourite.
So How will Thiem winning the US Open 2020 impact on the future of Tennis and Slam race?
 
Medvedev's reaction when reading this

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Well, Thiem proved he could beat Nadal at the AO, his weakest slam. And he proved he could beat Djokovic at RG, his weakest slam. So, he hasn't really proved anything spectacular. It should not be unusual that a world No.3 and best of his generation should be able to beat 1 and 2 at their worst slams.
I don't think Nadal will be at all intimidated by Thiem winning the USO. Nadal will respect it and won't underestimate it, but this is a guy who went and beat Federer at Wimbledon. He will be, if anything, more alert, which is bad news for Thiem.
Overall, I think Thiem might have a bit more spring in his step after winning. But so will plenty of other players after this USO. I could see, mentally, a win might help him should he get into another situation like he did at the AO final where a stronger sense of self belief might have pushed him over the winning line.
 
I think that the entire NextGen is going to feel inspired that they can all win Slams once they see Thiem or Zverev doing it on Sunday. Thats what happened once they started winning Masters 1000 finals against the Big 3. Novak left the door open for the NextGen at Slams by getting defaulted and he is going to now struggle to win 3-4 Slams against them and it weakens his chance of winning the GOAT argument. Thiem is going to have more confidence against Nadal at RG also if he comes in as the USO champion and he might win the first of many French Opens.

I have felt for the last two years that players like Thiem, Zverev and Tsitsipas have the game to win Slams against the Big3 (except on grass), but what they lacked is the confidence and mental toughness to win seven Bof5 matches including two back-to-back against Big3 players in the semis and final of a Slam. They might start feeling that they can do it now and I no longer feel confident that Nadal and Djokovic can dominate 2021.
 
The impact occurred in the 4th round, immediately. That single slam, whether he would have won it or not, could have a massive effect on the slam race in 3 years as these guys' careers finally fade. I'm hoping an inspired and galvanized group of youngsters start beating the Big 3 up with more consistency in the Slams. It's what everyone has been waiting for, but we'll have to see it to believe it.
 
As long as THE BIG 3 avoid getting defaulted or injured they will be favorites. These youngsters can\t hold a candle to them.
 
James P said:
It's what everyone has been waiting for, but we'll have to see it to believe it.
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Tennis has a very old fan base compared to many other sports and I would argue that the majority of tennis fans who are over the age of 40 would prefer to see the Big3 continue to win Slams. I certainly would fall in that camp and so, I don’t agree that everyone has been waiting for the NextGen to break through. In contrast, I feel privileged to see the Big3 display their craft and love watching all of them play and win. I would like every semifinal to be Djokovic vs Federer and Nadal vs Thiem for a couple of more years.

Now, if tennis wants the fan base to get younger, maybe it is better for the NextGen to start winning. On the other hand, the WTA has many young champions and I don’t think their fan base skews younger than the ATP. So, it remains to be seen if the ATP will just get less popular once the Big3 stop winning Slams.
 
We have a Thiem-Zverev final so we're going to have a new GS champion but let's not forget this season has been monumentally turned upside down by the Covid 19 pandemic. The game and tournaments right now feel a bit weird.

This Open had no Nadal, no Federer and Djokovic got himself DQ'd, so in the end the way was left open for one of the younger players just below the Big 3.
They've been challenging now for a while but the breakthrough happens in those circumstances.

Having said that, the likes of Thiem, Zverev and also Medvedev, though he lost in the semis, and others like Tsitsipas etc, have the chance to go on and stake their claims as the champions of the future, as the greats are all aging.

Their games ( Dom, Zverev, Meddy) have been steadily progressing, but their confidence and self-belief can also go way up off the back of this tournament, so if, for instance, Dominic wins the USO, he could be real happy with going into the French as a definite threat there too, he likes the clay and it's been his best Slam to date. He would be a potential Roland Garros champ, less so Zverev in Paris, I feel.
Never forget Nadal at Roland Garros though and he can never be written off if he's in good shape.

From now on, Thiem, Zverev, Medvedev and the like are real contenders to win Slams so the next few months could definitely signal the changing of the guard at the top imo.
 
Thiem's victories over Nadal at AO and over Med at USO are so similar. He got a break down twice in each match, broke back to even the set, and then won in easy tiebreaks.

You know who was the only one who could hold back Thiem in a recent big match? Djokovic, he didn't let Thiem have a single break in the last 2 sets of their championship match at AO, even though Thiem did have many break points.

Why do Nadfans say Thiem choke against Djokovic? Maybe because they expected him to do to Djokovic what he had done to Nadal, and just did to Medvedev?
 
The biggest difference-maker in the match: Thiem trusts his power in big points, and therefore could play normally. Medvedev doesn't, and therefore sometimes had to hold a little back on big points.
 
SonnyT said:
The biggest difference-maker in the match: Thiem trusts his power in big points, and therefore could play normally. Medvedev doesn't, and therefore sometimes had to hold a little back on big points.
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Medvedev hits flat and has to hit deep and close to the lines to trouble Thiem which gives him a low margin for error. Thiem could hit shorter balls closer to the middle and still keep the rallies on neutral because of his super-heavy topspin on both wings. Thiem can basically go for more winners also with his technique compared with Medvedev who has to be more conservative. That higher margin for error shows up and makes a difference in pressure situations like tiebreakers and breakpoints. Thiem also did a great job of keeping points on neutral with his BH slice when he didn’t have enough time to drive the ball - his slice is under-rated and gives him a lot of variety that many 2HBH players don’t have.
 
I hope Thiem has matured emotionally. It's been the only thing holding him back. Seemed pretty solid against Med. He easily could have folded in the tie breakers, but he stayed focused. That's good for tennis.
 
In normal play, Medvedev had the edge over Thiem. That was why he went a break up in both 2nd and 3rd sets. But in crunch time, Med didn't believe in himself, and held back. That allowed Thiem to break back, and win the tiebreaks.

Medvedev's 2nd critical error last night was: when he was a break up in the two sets, he took it easy on Thiem's serve and didn't go for the 2nd break. Big 3 often use that tactic, but Med is not nearly accomplished enough to try the same thing. That could only be ascribed to stubbornness, or mental weakness.

Now we know Thiem is the strongest mentally among the next geners. That in itself probably is the most important thing of all!
 
Congratulations Thiem on your first US Open title. You were close in Australia against Djokovic's on his best surface and second best clay court player.
I have a 1HBH and need to study his a bit more to generate some insane pace. I didn't think anyone could outpace Medvedev on the ground that way.
 
zipplock said:
I hope Thiem has matured emotionally. It's been the only thing holding him back. Seemed pretty solid against Med. He easily could have folded in the tie breakers, but he stayed focused. That's good for tennis.
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Thiem dominated the GS tiebreaks against both Nadal and Medvedev; 4 of 5 tiebreaks he won against those 2 were not even close! And he broke them, twice each, to get into those tiebreaks in the first place.

In the 2 Slams this year, the only top player Thiem so far couldn't dominate was Djokovic! He couldn't get a break on Djokovic in the last 2 sets of the AO final.
 
socallefty said:
I think that the entire NextGen is going to feel inspired that they can all win Slams once they see Thiem or Zverev doing it on Sunday. Thats what happened once they started winning Masters 1000 finals against the Big 3. Novak left the door open for the NextGen at Slams by getting defaulted and he is going to now struggle to win 3-4 Slams against them and it weakens his chance of winning the GOAT argument. Thiem is going to have more confidence against Nadal at RG also if he comes in as the USO champion and he might win the first of many French Opens.

I have felt for the last two years that players like Thiem, Zverev and Tsitsipas have the game to win Slams against the Big3 (except on grass), but what they lacked is the confidence and mental toughness to win seven Bof5 matches including two back-to-back against Big3 players in the semis and final of a Slam. They might start feeling that they can do it now and I no longer feel confident that Nadal and Djokovic can dominate 2021.
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I just don’t think it will do overwhelming damage to the hold Djokdal have until one of them loses to these guys on the way to the slam title. (I think they already should expect to beat Fed at a slam at this point. He’ll be almost 40.)

Without that it seems like the asterisk nature of this slam just keeps a spotlight on the question.

Hopefully that fuels them tho - more ambitious to prove this wasn’t a fluke.
 
Devtennis01 said:
Well, Thiem proved he could beat Nadal at the AO, his weakest slam. And he proved he could beat Djokovic at RG, his weakest slam. So, he hasn't really proved anything spectacular. It should not be unusual that a world No.3 and best of his generation should be able to beat 1 and 2 at their worst slams.
I don't think Nadal will be at all intimidated by Thiem winning the USO. Nadal will respect it and won't underestimate it, but this is a guy who went and beat Federer at Wimbledon. He will be, if anything, more alert, which is bad news for Thiem.
Overall, I think Thiem might have a bit more spring in his step after winning. But so will plenty of other players after this USO. I could see, mentally, a win might help him should he get into another situation like he did at the AO final where a stronger sense of self belief might have pushed him over the winning line.
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Whatever.
I think Thiem is capable of beating anyone anywhere (except on grass) on a given day.
Would he be a favorite against Nadal on clay or against Novak on HC? Of course not, but he proved a lot even in the loss in the AO final. Novak was truly on the ropes before the long medical timeout...
 
Micheal Federer said:
We already see he has the game to defeat both Nadal and Djokovic in Slams. But what has been the major issue has been the belief and mental aspect to do it in a slam final.If Thiem wins the US Open, then it could lead to a very much anticipated French Open with Thiem going in as a Slam winner and second favourite.
So How will Thiem winning the US Open 2020 impact on the future of Tennis and Slam race?
Click to expand...
The mental side has little to do with it. Now Vampiro’s coaching that is off the charts.o_O Thiem now has game and physicality to win the next 4 slams. Tim will be number two in the world if he wins the U.S. Open and RG.;)
 
Nadalgaenger said:
Whatever.
I think Thiem is capable of beating anyone anywhere (except on grass) on a given day.
Would he be a favorite against Nadal on clay or against Novak on HC? Of course not, but he proved a lot even in the loss in the AO final. Novak was truly on the ropes before the long medical timeout...
Click to expand...
Thiem during the exhibition season had his best form to date and brought it to the semi finals or enough of it. His game I expect will slowly continue to rise for at least a few more years as he gets stronger with even more stamina plus still learning from Massu.:D At this point he’s going to be a tough out anywhere and frankly I wouldn’t rule out grass with how well his backhand slice is working.
 
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