Dominic Thiem on Tuesday produced a scintillating display of attacking tennis to beat Novak Djokovic and qualify for the last four at the ATP Finals, leaving the Serbian facing a shootout against Roger Federer.
In the standout match at London’s O2 Arena, the Austrian fifth seed took the fight to the world No. 2, recovering from losing the first set to triumph 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/5)
Earlier, Federer put himself back in the mix with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 win against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in their round-robin clash.
Photo: AFP
Federer and Djokovic are to face off today in a repeat of this year’s Wimbledon final to determine who else progresses from Group Bjorn Borg.
Thiem was forced to play high-stakes tennis against the 16-time Grand Slam winner, taking spectators’ breath away with some of his inside-out forehands and single-handed backhands.
Forced to play at his limit, he hit 50 winners compared with Djokovic’s tally of 27, but also racked up 44 unforced errors.
“This was really one of these special matches, what I’ve practiced all my life for — all my childhood for,” Thiem said. “A really epic one in an amazing atmosphere, beating a legend of our game — and also I’ve qualified for the semi-finals, which is the best.”
“Coming back from 1-4 [down in the deciding tiebreak] was a little bit of luck, but it was an unbelievable match and one I’ll never forget. Novak is the best player in the world and I had to do something special,” Thiem added.
In a captivating first set the players swapped a break apiece, but Djokovic, a five-time ATP Finals champion, edged the tiebreak.
Thiem broke his opponent at the first opportunity in the second set and, with Djokovic’s error count climbing, went on to level the match.
Thiem also drew first blood in the decider, but cracked in the sixth game as Djokovic leveled the match and appeared to have engineered a switch in momentum.
The Austrian successfully challenged at 30-30 in the 10th game after his forehand was ruled out, preventing a match point for Djokovic, and he toughed it out to level at 5-5.
He then broke Djokovic to love to earn a chance to serve for the match, but stumbled. The decider went to a tiebreak.
Still the drama was not finished. Thiem slipped to 4-1 down, but battled back to win it on his second match point when Djokovic dumped a forehand into the net.
Third seed Federer had put himself under pressure by losing his opening round-robin match to Thiem.
The six-time champion was not at his fluent best on Tuesday, but ultimately had too much for his Italian opponent.
Federer upped his game to take the first set tiebreak, but broke immediately at the start of the second set to leave the big-serving Berrettini with too much to do.
Federer was asked after his win against Berrettini whether his defeat to Djokovic at Wimbledon had left emotional or mental scars.
“We’ll find out, but I think it’s all flushed away from my side,” the Swiss said. “A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.”
Djokovic is hunting a sixth ATP Finals title to pull level with Federer’s record.
He is also seeking to beat out Rafael Nadal to the year-end No. 1 ranking.
On Monday, top seed Nadal lost his opener in Group Andre Agassi to defending champion Alexander Zverev, while Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Daniil Medvedev.
US President Donald Trump’s granddaughter, Kai Trump, is poised to make her LPGA Tour debut after receiving a sponsor invitation on Tuesday to the Nov. 13 to 16 tournament at Pelican Golf Club in Florida. “My dream has been to compete with the best in the world on the LPGA Tour,” Kai Trump said in a statement posted on the LPGA’s Web site. “This event will be an incredible experience,” she said. “I look forward [to] meeting and competing against so many of my heroes and mentors in golf as I make my LPGA Tour debut.” The 18-year-old high-school senior,
REACTION: Less than 24 hours after a 18-inning Game 3 loss, the Blue Jays’ win ensured that the best-of-seven series is to head back to Toronto for Game 6 tomorrow Vladimir Guerrero Jr on Tuesday blasted a two-run home run as the Toronto Blue Jays bounced back to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 and tie the MLB World Series at two games apiece. Less than 24 hours after a shattering 18-inning Game 3 loss, the Blue Jays climbed off the canvas to breathe new life into their hopes of a first MLB title in 32 years. Guerrero’s two-run blast off Dodgers starter Shohei Ohtani and a superb pitching performance from ace Shane Bieber laid the foundations for a gutsy victory that silenced Dodger Stadium. “I’m always trying to compete
Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia to set up a Women’s World Cup final against South Africa. Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai. The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there would be a new name on the 50-over trophy tomorrow. Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations
Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round. A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the
RSS