kangaroo1973
Hall of Fame
Between 2017-2020 there was a player who unlike other overhyped next gen players( say hi to Zverev, Tsitsipas, Shapovalov etc.) Proved to be more than capable of beating big 3 on a more or less regular basis, including slams.
Battering Novaxx in 2017 at FO, and beating him again at the same venue 2 years later in a classic match. One year later, he would push him to the absolute limit in Melbourne.
Their encounters at WTF were especially entertaining, Novak's incredible defence on one side and Thiem s brutal raw power off both wings ( perhaps the biggest hitter since Safin) on the other.
Vs Rafa- i highly recommend USO 2018 QF and 2020 AO, once again extremely entertaining match with some ridiculous shotmaking from both. He would also beat Nadal that year at WTF in perhaps the best 2 setter i ve ever seen.
Vs Fed, beat him 3 times in a row in 2019, these matches however were extremely close and with all due respect I do not find them that impressive, due to Fed s age. He was 38 by that time and yet gave Thiem a pretty hard time. IIRC he even had a match point against Timmy in ROMA?
IN 2021, everything went downhill, perhaps lack of motivation after beating Zed when the latter as usual choked in a spectacular fashion( i was glad that Zed lost, ngl.). He played more or less decently in Madrid and at AO, but 3 months later his wrist was in a dire state after a nasty slip on grass in Spain.
Timmy attempted to come back in 2022, but his forehand was nonexistent, return absolutely disastrous (on par with Tsitsipas) , serve lacked any bite and backhand was a shadow of its former self. He gave me some hope in Vienna that year, when he beat Paul, but that was it. No further improvements and he started to deteroriate even more.
Considering the fact, that countless of former top 10 players made successful comebacks, why did Thiem fail where others succeeded?
Del Po for example made successful comeback in 2012-13 and then again in 2016, Safin in 04, Agassi in 98 (IIRC)- AND 99 was his by far most successful season, having won 2 slams and reaching finals in the third.
I am aware that Thiem is not that talented as the players mentioned above, but he had potential.
Why did he fail?
Battering Novaxx in 2017 at FO, and beating him again at the same venue 2 years later in a classic match. One year later, he would push him to the absolute limit in Melbourne.
Their encounters at WTF were especially entertaining, Novak's incredible defence on one side and Thiem s brutal raw power off both wings ( perhaps the biggest hitter since Safin) on the other.
Vs Rafa- i highly recommend USO 2018 QF and 2020 AO, once again extremely entertaining match with some ridiculous shotmaking from both. He would also beat Nadal that year at WTF in perhaps the best 2 setter i ve ever seen.
Vs Fed, beat him 3 times in a row in 2019, these matches however were extremely close and with all due respect I do not find them that impressive, due to Fed s age. He was 38 by that time and yet gave Thiem a pretty hard time. IIRC he even had a match point against Timmy in ROMA?
IN 2021, everything went downhill, perhaps lack of motivation after beating Zed when the latter as usual choked in a spectacular fashion( i was glad that Zed lost, ngl.). He played more or less decently in Madrid and at AO, but 3 months later his wrist was in a dire state after a nasty slip on grass in Spain.
Timmy attempted to come back in 2022, but his forehand was nonexistent, return absolutely disastrous (on par with Tsitsipas) , serve lacked any bite and backhand was a shadow of its former self. He gave me some hope in Vienna that year, when he beat Paul, but that was it. No further improvements and he started to deteroriate even more.
Considering the fact, that countless of former top 10 players made successful comebacks, why did Thiem fail where others succeeded?
Del Po for example made successful comeback in 2012-13 and then again in 2016, Safin in 04, Agassi in 98 (IIRC)- AND 99 was his by far most successful season, having won 2 slams and reaching finals in the third.
I am aware that Thiem is not that talented as the players mentioned above, but he had potential.
Why did he fail?
