“I have nothing to lose,” says Andrey ‘The Giant Killer’ Rublev after downing Grand Slam Champion Dominic Thiem in Vienna Open


In a stadium of just a thousand people, the silence speaks volumes when the cheers are minimal for just one of the players. Such was case in the quarter-final match between Dominic Thiem and Andrey Rublev. The defending champion had tremendous crowd support in his home country of Austria. Alas, Thiem was vanquished in straight sets by the hot-rod, Rublev.
The duo produced a marvellous display of tennis in the first set, with the Russian winning it 7-6(5) in the breaker. However, as the match progressed, a physical problem that hampered the 2nd seed’s movement was made apparent. Thiem lost the second set 6-2, and with it, the hopes of adding a second title to his 2020 tally along with his maiden Grand Slam win at the U.S Open.
This doesn’t take away from the master-class that the 22-year-old mustered to advance to the semi-finals. Rublev still hasn’t dropped a single set throughout his run in Erste Bank Open. Even with these stupendous results, the World No.8 explained his ‘low-expectations’ mindset heading into this tournament.
Rublev’s “zero-expectations” before dream run in Vienna

Rublev has already picked up 4 titles in this shortened tennis-season. He is the only man apart from World No.1 Novak Djokovic to have done so. Further, he claimed his first ATP 500 title in 2020. Moreover, he backed this impressive feat with adding another 500 title as he won in St. Petersburg last week.
Inspite of reaping such phenomenal results and having a win rate of 84%, he was wary of the force that is Dominic Thiem. Rublev admitted to taking one step at a time heading into this week.
“I came here with zero expectations. Just (wanting) to do my best. To try to fight every match. At the end, I am here in the semi-finals,” he said.
Further, Rublev revealed how he approached his match against Dominic with a mindset of “I have nothing to lose”. After that, he labelled Thiem “one of the nicest players on the ATP tour.”
The only seed left in the tournament, Andrey Rublev will take on Kevin Anderson in the semi-finals later today. On the other hand, Dominic Thiem has recently expressed doubts over competing in Paris and will likely be seen in action in the ATP Tour Finals.
Chhavi Jindal
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