Thiem's Time Has Come

Wow, where did this version of Thiem suddenly spring from??

It's not as if he'd been showing any promise on hardcourts this season (2nd round at AO, 1st round in Doha) so what made him suddenly turn it on for IW and win his maiden Masters title on hardcourt rather than clay???:oops:

What exactly has Nicolas Massu been saying to him (is he getting in position for Coach of the Year)???:cool:
 
Mainad said:
Wow, where did this version of Thiem suddenly spring from??

It's not as if he'd been showing any promise on hardcourts this season (2nd round at AO, 1st round in Doha) so what made him suddenly turn it on for IW and win his maiden Masters title on hardcourt rather than clay???:oops:

What exactly has Nicolas Massu been saying to him (is he getting in position for Coach of the Year)???:cool:
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We saw flashes of it last year at the USO which is a similar type of slower hardcourt. Thiem is not as great on the faster ones.
 
Like last year's final, I think another missed opportunity for Federer to hold the standalone record at IW.

But this is a great win for Thiem. He's been known to fold in the big matches, so this just might be the breakthrough win that leads to more big (and bigger) titles.
 
Meles said:
tenor.gif


And yet Thiem also won St. Petersburg the next event and snagged another 200 points beating the resurgent Nishi at WTF. Points are points and its got him close. With Murray out of the game and Wawrinka only able to muster top 15 in ATP race in 2019 after a year back in the game, why not Thiem for top 5/4 with Federe semi-retired? When you think about it your viable alternatives for top 5 are:
1. Semi-retired Fed
2. Tsitsipas
3. Medvedev
4. Kyrgios lol

Aging geriatrics Cilic, Delpo, and Anderson might make a move, but Cilic is the best horse and he has to make up 700 points on Thiem. Despite some success last year Tsits does not profess clay his favorite surface and Medvedev on clay well...
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Thiem Top 4 at RG is inevitable given the bulk of his clay points are from last year's RG final.:cool:
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guitarra said:
It's only the question of time before Dominator wins multiply slams.
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Meles said:
Greatness vs Big 4 fans representing something like the latter stages of the Roman empire; an orgy of ignorance from drinking the leaden water, the Big 4 Kool-Aid.
tenor.gif
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guitarra said:
It is but he's kind of Wawrinka type of player, a late bloomer who'll peak later. Generally players will peak later in the future mainly due to improved medicine and better regeneration.

All he needs is an additional coach who'll give him some fresh insights mainly about tactical aspects of his game. He's already getting there, the improvements on HC were visible last year, this year's slump is not representative cause Dominic is recovering from the injury.
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Meles said:
LOL. You do know Thiem fractured his ankle just before 2018 clay season and only found his best form literally days before the tournament in Lyon and even had to play QF and SF same day? Good luck stopping him with a head of steam coming in from the sunshine double.;) If Thiem makes SF he'll already be just a few points behind Nishikori for 4 ranking. If he makes the IW final he'll spring well ahead. Even if Federer goes deep at IW and Miami he won't play all the clay masters events so Thiem will have a great chance even to secure #4 seed at RG from Federer.

Of note is that Thiem team also did not schedule for Acapulco and they're clearly now resting him a touch before big events.
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MasturB said:
2019 will be marked as one of the great transition years.
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Meles said:
This was a bold forecast based on what happened at US Open. Thiem had a workable draw once again and played into top form.:p
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NoleFam said:
We saw flashes of it last year at the USO which is a similar type of slower hardcourt. Thiem is not as great on the faster ones.
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van_Loederen said:
there should be some kind of fee for becoming a Thiem fan from now on.
especially for Feder fans who try to switch camps after the dust has settled tomorrow.
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Agree
 
True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new... Congratulations, Domimic. It is rather fascinating. I appear in this thread and next thing you know, you're beating Federer in a final I think we have some things to talk about. Call the hotline. And once more, congratulations.
1485125891523
 
van_Loederen said:
there should be some kind of fee for becoming a Thiem fan from now on.
especially for Feder fans who try to switch camps after the dust has settled tomorrow.
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The Tieminator has had his fair share of fans for a long time. We'd been patiently waiting for him to stay healthy, stop playing every 250 tournament under the sun and generally take his head out of his, admittedly very much in shape, аrse. It has finally happened; let's hope he keeps it up.

Edit: but yes, kudos to Meles for sticking with the Austrian Prince through the hard thiems!
 
Mainad said:
Wow, where did this version of Thiem suddenly spring from??

It's not as if he'd been showing any promise on hardcourts this season (2nd round at AO, 1st round in Doha) so what made him suddenly turn it on for IW and win his maiden Masters title on hardcourt rather than clay???:oops:

What exactly has Nicolas Massu been saying to him (is he getting in position for Coach of the Year)???:cool:
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't mind where this version has come from, I just hope he stays. I was very frustrated with his performances in big matches last year, especially that loss to Zverev in Madrid final. He simply couldn't keep it together mentally, and now in his mid 20s, it just felt like so much wasted talent.

He should be winning big titles regularly at this stage, and I hope for him and his fans he builds on this positively and this is not a one off run. Next step is to win one of three clay masters this year, ideally Madrid or Rome.
 
Mainad said:
Wow, where did this version of Thiem suddenly spring from??

It's not as if he'd been showing any promise on hardcourts this season (2nd round at AO, 1st round in Doha) so what made him suddenly turn it on for IW and win his maiden Masters title on hardcourt rather than clay???:oops:

What exactly has Nicolas Massu been saying to him (is he getting in position for Coach of the Year)???:cool:
Click to expand...

New Coach, New Strings, New Thiem.
 
Hitman said:
Honestly, I don't mind where this version has come from, I just hope he stays. I was very frustrated with his performances in big matches last year, especially that loss to Zverev in Madrid final. He simply couldn't keep it together mentally, and now in his mid 20s, it just felt like so much wasted talent.

He should be winning big titles regularly at this stage, and I hope for him and his fans he builds on this positively and this is not a one off run. Next step is to win one of three clay masters this year, ideally Madrid or Rome.
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Thiem has higher chance in Monte Carlo than Madrid.
Thiem need a good bounce on the ball. So Rome and Monte carlo are ideal.
 
IowaGuy said:
@Meles - did you notice in the post-match press conference that Fed called Thiem a clay-courter :)

2:00 in the video:

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Very complimentary of Thiem and Tsitsipas for that matter. They may not be quite to his overall caliber, but they both came up with the goods. Quite a change from the typical pigeons of yore, so upsets happen.
 
Kalin said:
The Tieminator has had his fair share of fans for a long time. We'd been patiently waiting for him to stay healthy, stop playing every 250 tournament under the sun and generally take his head out of his, admittedly very much in shape, аrse. It has finally happened; let's hope he keeps it up.
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patiently waiting for him to pull his head out his A, meanwhile brownnosing Feder to bridge the time. that are the right ones. :p

Mainad said:
Wow, where did this version of Thiem suddenly spring from??

It's not as if he'd been showing any promise on hardcourts this season (2nd round at AO, 1st round in Doha) so what made him suddenly turn it on for IW and win his maiden Masters title on hardcourt rather than clay???:oops:
Click to expand...
well, he has shown his potential on slowish hardcourt couple of times before.
recently (AO) he was thrown back by some illness again. he said repeadly he has recurrent issues with his immune system. it happened to him also in summer last year, prior to the Canada Masters. and that wasn't the first time. also prior to the AO last year and in autumn 2017.
in addition, he sustained an ankle injury last spring. so once again he couldn't show up on the hardcourts.

as for the immune system, i doubt it's something real. he trains hard and doesn't listen to his body enough, i believe. he seems to be that type.

as for his performance, last year at the USO one could already see what happens when he's fit and too well rested.

BeatlesFan said:
He's not winning much off clay until he shortens his backswing on both wings.

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he's not doing that for his fans only,
it also gives him the time™ to place his shots perfectly. :cool:
 
No man born in the 1990s has won a slam.

Thiem’s time will have come when he achieves this feat (which I believe he will do at RG this year).
 
Rosstour said:
I want to agree but he could easily win an RG or two. Maybe not this year but I wouldn't be surprised at all. Once Rafa is out of the picture, who could consistently stop him on clay? He could be the next "King of Clay" but his reign will be much shorter.

And I didn't know Massu was coaching him. That could be just what he needs, someone with a little fire and swag. Thiem is a little too polite, and that extends to playing Rafa lol.
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Him waiting for Rafa to decline isn't a sign of a champion in the making.
 
Hitman said:
Honestly, I don't mind where this version has come from, I just hope he stays. I was very frustrated with his performances in big matches last year, especially that loss to Zverev in Madrid final. He simply couldn't keep it together mentally, and now in his mid 20s, it just felt like so much wasted talent.

He should be winning big titles regularly at this stage, and I hope for him and his fans he builds on this positively and this is not a one off run. Next step is to win one of three clay masters this year, ideally Madrid or Rome.
Click to expand...
Its called fractured ankle at IW last year; Thiem is going to be way, way better than last year if he stays healthy.
 
Meles said:
Much like the 2018 US Open, Thiem is flying completely under the radar and very hungry given his horror of a start to 2019. Despite the travails Thiem is close enough in the live rankings to make a critical move to #4 in the world in time for the European clay season. Here are the germane current live rankings through today with 2018 Miami thrown out as well:
4 Kei Nishikori 4190
5 Roger Federer 4035
6 Kevin Anderson 3935
7 Dominic Thiem 3800

With Anderson's withdrawal from IW and Nishikori barely alive at IW, Thiem has an outside shot at passing both Federer and Nishikori in time for Monte Carlo (Federe's Sunshine season may be academic as he's unlikely to play Monte Carlo and Thiem is not defending many points so will have a chance to close the gap even if Fed does well at IW and Miami.)

Indian Wells has proven a favorable surface for Thiem in the past, and with new coach Nicolas Massu, Thiem looks hungry just in time to defend the large haul of 2018 clay points. If Thiem fails to make #4 he'll have a 75% chance of hitting Nadal, Zverev, or Djokovic at quarter-final stage of Masters 1000s which will make defending 2018's progress much harder. 4 seed at Monte Carlo and Thiem's season may yet be salvaged.o_O
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Mission more than accomplished and Thiem appears to have 4 seed at RG already locked up.(y) Live rankings as Miami starts:
1. Djokovic N. 10990
2. Nadal R. 8725
3. Zverev A. 6040 -590
4. Thiem D. 4765 +10o_O
5. Federer R. 4600
6. Nishikori K. 4200 -35
7. Anderson K. 3945 -170
8. Del Potro J. 3225 -360
9. +1 Tsitsipas S. 3060

Thiem hobbled by fractured ankle not defending a lot of points before RG and even the 2018 Lyon win counts for this year. That's 1450 clay points from last year that won't go way before RG.:p
 
mike danny said:
Him waiting for Rafa to decline isn't a sign of a champion in the making.
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Remember the French before Rafa? It will be that way again when he's done. Someone will have to win them. Hard to imagine he won't have a couple good chances over the next decade.
 
mike danny said:
Him waiting for Rafa to decline isn't a sign of a champion in the making.
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Mission Accomplished; Thiem has locked up #4 seed at RG with Zedrot's travails leaving him eating dust.

Thiem can now tank to Nadal at Rome if he wishes.;) Only reason Djoko beat Thiem at Madrid was his Cryic walkover which also has him in a great spot for Rome this week.:mad:
 
Meles said:
Mission Accomplished; Thiem has locked up #4 seed at RG with Zedrot's travails leaving him eating dust.

Thiem can now tank to Nadal at Rome if he wishes.;) Only reason Djoko beat Thiem at Madrid was his Cryic walkover which also has him in a great spot for Rome this week.:mad:
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Thiemrot:)
 
Meles said:
Wishful thinking as his form is incredible right now. Madrid favors serving enough to expose Thiem's first return a bit is all; see final with Zedzilla Madrid 2018. Thiem has a fine clay serve game of his own, but just tilted things enough for Djoko's current game which features an improved, precision first serve.
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Zedzilla sounds better then zedrot(y)
 
Thiem picked up two more hard court ATP 500s this Fall, one of which was his 2nd indoor tournament, putting him ahead of the GOAT (When Healthy:sneaky:). Might win a 3rd indoor hard court tournament this weekend.:p

giphy.gif
 
King No1e said:
This thread is a goldmine.
@Meles you ready to see more Thiem haters eating their words? I sure am!
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A who-can-choke-the-least final to win the 2020 USO.
Blew a 2-1 set lead to lose to little Schwartzman in the QF of 2020 RG.
Lost in straight sets to 1st-Generation LostGen Dimitrov in R4 of 2021 AO...bageled in the 3rd.

These are not "eating their words" results.
 
not the best time to resurrect the thread

it would've had a better effect straight after his USO win but his results in the past few months have been just plain bad and he crashed and burned in his last GS match
 
duaneeo said:
A who-can-choke-the-least final to win the 2020 USO.
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A win is a win is a win. Especially when it's done from 2 sets down with a thrilling down-to-the-wire finish.
duaneeo said:
Lost in straight sets to 1st-Generation LostGen Dimitrov in R4 of 2021 AO...bageled in the 3rd.
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Both Thiem and Dimitrov admitted that Thiem was physically struggling.
duaneeo said:
These are not "eating their words" results.
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Not yet :cool:
 
King No1e said:
A win is a win is a win.

Both Thiem and Dimitrov admitted that Thiem was physically struggling.
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A win is a win perhaps, but it doesn't change the gist of the thoughts about Thiem.

Struggling at the slams (physically and/or mentally) has been a chronic issue with the younger players for years. Hence the continued criticism.
 
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