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Austria’s Dominic Thiem reacts during his semi-final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
Reuters
Austria’s Dominic Thiem reacts during his semi-final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
What an amazing night it was for the World No.3 Dominic Thiem. The Austrian defeated World No.1 Novak Djokovic in a nail-biting encounter to seal his spot in the title match of the ATP Finals 2020. After losing a close tie-breaker in the second set, Thiem made a terrific comeback in the third set after going down 0-4 down in the tie-breaker. The final scoreline was 7-5, 6-7, 7-6.
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It has been a special tournament for Thiem so far. After beating Rafael Nadal in straight sets earlier, it was quite clear that he could beat anyone on any day. And yes, with this win over Djokovic, Dominic Thiem has also registered his name in the history books.
He has now become the second player after Andy Murray to enjoy at least 5 wins over every member of the ‘Big Three’. Interestingly, he is ahead in the head-to-head matches against Roger Federer.
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Dominic Thiem is the 2nd ever player to have at least 5 wins against all members of the Big 3. The other one is Andy Murray.
5-2 vs Federer
6-9 vs Nadal
5-7 vs Djokovic— José Morgado (@josemorgado) November 21, 2020
Although he lags behind in the head-to-head tally against Rafa and Djokovic, fans expect that with the way he has been playing, he would soon be leading there as well.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Rafael Nadal of Spain, and Roger Federer of Switzerland wait to go on stage during the ATP Heritage Celebration at The Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Surprisingly, the 27-year-old Thiem has now won the last five of his seven matches against Djokovic. Against Nadal, he has won the last three out of four matches and has managed to beat Federer in the last three meetings.
Read More: Dominic Thiem overpowers Novak Djokovic to reach back-to-back finals at the ATP Finals
“It was amazing”- Dominic Thiem after beating Novak Djokovic
Talking to the press, Thiem revealed what exactly happened to him during the tie-breaker in the third set.
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Austria’s Dominic Thiem in action during his semi-final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
“I got a little bit lucky in the third set tiebreak. It’s so much on the edge, from 0-4 in the tiebreak I went for every single shot and every single shot went in. It was amazing,” said the US Open 2020 winner.
It must have been heartbreaking for Thiem when he dropped four match-points against Djokovic in the second set. One such incident came in the tie-breaker when, after earning the match-point, Thiem conceded it by making a double fault. In the press conference, he spoke about the same.
On doublefaulting on match point: 'I was so tight in all of my body.'
— George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) November 21, 2020
“I was so tight in all of my body,” revealed an anxious Thiem.
He was clearly nervous facing the World No.1 in the tie-breaker. However, he kept his calm and won an incredible match against him. Thiem will now face either Rafa or Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the ATP Finals 2020. Just like the last four times, the ATP Finals will witness another new winner this time as well.
