“That’s why I work hard every day“ - Thiem satisfied with his progress
ATP
Dominic Thiem was very happy about his win over Francisco Cerundolo at the 2022 European Open in Antwerp.
The Austrian player competed in Gijon last week. He met Cerundolo in the quarter-finals and bested the Argentinian 6-4, 6-3. One week later, he once again played against Cerundolo, this time in Antwerp.
Thiem won also in Antwerp, winning 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 in the second round. Although the first two sets were very quick and finished 6-1, it ended up being a close match. After the match, the 2020 US Open champion analyzed the match, happy about handling the crucial moments well.
"That’s why I work hard every day, to be able after two hours with a very close score, to play good shots, to play good tennis, because that is when it matters most. At 6-5 in the third, you have to come up with good tennis to be able to bring the match over the finish line, and luckily today it was my turn."
"It’s always difficult and interesting to play somebody two weeks in a row. It’s a little bit strange, but I came out playing really good, 6-1 in the first set, but I know that he is a great player so it was obvious in mind also that It was not going to continue that way."
Thiem will take on Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 event. The Austrian knows that he lost to the Polish player in all three matches they played so far. He wants to change that in Antwerp.
“[I'm] 0-3 against him. For two years he has been [one of] the world’s best, especially indoors. Unbelievable serve, we just played three or four weeks ago in Metz, where he had a pretty easy win against me, and I hope I can make it more difficult for him tomorrow and be able to make another step ahead.”
