LONDON: At the start of the week Dominic Thiem expected a tough match against a Spanish player. Little did he know that that test would be in the shape of Pablo Carreno Busta.
Fighting to keep his chances of reaching the semi-final stage of the tournament alive, the world No.4 was forced to dig deep to prevail 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, over his rival. A series of baseline rallies between the two excited the animated London crowd, but wore down the players. Completing the marathon encounter, which lasted over two hours, Thiem secured victory with the help of 12 aces and 27 winners. Converting four out of his 13 break point opportunities.
The clash occurred as a result of Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from the tournament due to a knee injury. Thiem headed into the match with a flawless 4-0 head-to-head record against Carreno Busta, but in three of those he dropped a set. A trend that continued at The O2 Arena as the Spaniard delighted the crowd with his fearless play.
“It was a really, really tight match,” said Thiem. “I think he took the place of Rafa very well, a very tough three-setter. I’m pleased to be through, got very very tight at the end.”
During the opening set, Thiem managed to triumph on the crucial points. Carreno Busta, who was making his London debut, succumbed to the Austrian by hitting two consecutive shots into the net. Allowing Thiem to break for 3-2. A couple games later Thiem’s power and intensity scored him the 6-3 lead. Hitting a forehand deep to force the error from his rival on set point.
Since the US Open, Carreno Busta has only managed to win one out of six matches on the tour. Despite the lull, he illustrated glimmers of brilliance during the second set. Capitalizing on Thiem’s lackluster second service winning rate of only 27%, he broke twice to level the match. Triggering a surge of support for him from the crowd.
Despite the blip, Thiem managed to fight back to weather the storm. Halting Carreno Busta’s chances of becoming the first reserve player to win a match in the tournament since Janko Tipsarevic in 2011. Exchanging breaks during the decider, Thiem secured his breakthrough at 4-4. Wearing down the warrior-like resistance of his opponent, a cross-court error from the Spaniard gifted him a break-point chance, which he converted following another error from Carreno Busta. Back in control of the match, he closed out the proceedings with the help of a speedy serve out wide.
“I’m very happy and pleased that I get the chance to play for the semifinals on Friday. Not much calculating. The winner go through.” Thiem said during his press conference.
Thiem, who is only one of two players this season to reach the second week of all four grand slams, will next take on David Goffin. He trails their head-to-head 3-6 and has already lost twice to the Belgian this year.
“He’s taking the balls very early. He’s giving me not much time. Especially on this little bit faster surface, it’s tough for me. Yeah, so I try to be the first to hurt him and not the other way around.” The 24-year-old said about Goffin.
Thiem is bidding to become the first player from his country to reach the final of the end-of-year event.
