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Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates after winning the first set during his Men’s Singles Quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal of Spain on day ten of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 29, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
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Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates after winning the first set during his Men’s Singles Quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal of Spain on day ten of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 29, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Austrian tennis ace Dominic Thiem has opened up on his rivalry with rising Italian star Matteo Berrettini. The current World Number 3 is tied 2-2 with the 10th-ranked Italian from their four head-to-head battles, in one of the fiercest rivalries in contemporary men’s tennis.
Speaking to the media ahead of his much-awaited ATP Cup meeting with Berrettini on Tuesday, Thiem touched on his “tight” head-to-head record with the Italian to suggest that it will be a match between equals.
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Dominic Thiem says he shares cordial ties with Berrettini outside tennis
Thiem, who clinched his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open last year, said that he has played some close games against the Italian deep into tournaments and none will start as a clear favorite as they renew their rivalry at Brisbane on Tuesday.
Battle of the Big Hitters….@ThiemDomi on the rivalry with Matteo Berrettini.
🇦🇹 #TeamAustria | #ATPCup pic.twitter.com/G6t9O3LWSH
— ATPCup (@ATPCup) February 1, 2021
“Towards the end of 2019, we had three amazing matches in deep stages of big tournaments, (of) high quality,” the Austrian said.
He said he was eagerly looking forward to playing Berrettini again, adding that they share cordial ties outside tennis.
“We have a very good relationship and always (have) fun matches against each other,” the World Number 3 said.
However, he added that he would have preferred playing a lightweight opponent in his opening ATP Cup tie as Berrettini is a “big, big player”.
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Matteo Berrettini of Italy celebrates victory after his singles match against Dominic Thiem of Austria during Day Five of the Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 Arena on November 14, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Thiem hoping for an interesting battle against Berrettini
“I am not too happy that he is the first guy that I have to face in the new year after quite a while, without an official match,” Thiem said.
He added, however, that he was hoping for an “interesting” battle as always, come Tuesday.
While Thiem will be leading his country’s charge at the team event, a lot of how Italy fares in the tournament will depend on how Berrettini goes.
The two will also go into the Australian Open as title contenders and could even set up another meeting at some stage of the tournament.
After his maiden championship win in a Major last year, the Austrian will fancy going one step further at Melbourne Park than he did last year.
Read More: “We Have Good Chances”: Dominic Thiem Sends Warning to Opponents Ahead of ATP Cup 2021
Thiem came out on the wrong end of a pulsating five-setter in the final last year, losing to Novak Djokovic.
