Road to Nitto ATP Finals: Overview of Dominic Thiem’s 2020 season, Past Performance and Prediction for ATP Finals 2020
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Dominic Thiem enjoyed a successful year on tour that saw him finally lift his maiden Grandslam title at the US Open 2020. The Austrian finished the 2019 season at World number 4 but will end the 2020 season at a career best ranking of World number 3. Thiem enters the Nitto ATP Finals as the third seed and will compete in his 5th ATP Finals tournament. Last year, the Austrian just missed out on the trophy after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the finals.
In this article, we will have a look at Dominic Thiem’s performance in 2020 in lead up to the Nitto ATP Finals and look at his previous performances at the ATP Finals.
The wait for a maiden Grandslam continues
Dominic Thiem started the year off at the ATP Cup, an inaugural edition of a team event in Australia. Thiem lost two of his matches in the group stage and could not propel Austria into the knockout stages. Thiem lost to Hubert Hurkacz and Borna Coric in the group stage matches.
Dominic Thiem suffered a heartbreaking loss in the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic. The Austrian was leading 2 sets to 1 but the Serbian won the next 2 sets to claim his 8th Australian Open title. Thiem played brilliant tennis in the 2 weeks in Australia defeating the likes of Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals in 4 sets. He also defeated Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. The Austrian suffered a 3rd loss in a Grandslam final and his wait for his maiden major continued.
Dominic Thiem returned in action at the Rio Open, where he was defeated in the quarterfinals by Gianluca Mager. This was the last tournament the Austrian played in after the lockdown was imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fourth time’s the charm for Dominic Thiem as he wins the US Open 2020
Dominic Thiem started his hard court season at the Cincinnati Masters where he was shocked by Filip Krajinovic in the 1st round. Krajinovic handed him a straight sets defeat, dropping just 3 games. After that performance no one would have predicted what lay ahead for the Austrian at the US Open 2020.
Dominic Thiem finally lifted his maiden Grandslam trophy after defeating Alexander Zverev in an agonizingly close final that went all the way down to the 5th set tiebreaker. Thiem was down 2 sets and it seemed it was yet another final loss for the Austrian, but he produced a comeback from the top draw, winning the next 3 sets. Thiem had an extraordinary US Open 2020 as he dropped just one set prior to the finals.
Early-exit at the French Open and the Vienna Open
Dominic Thiem decided against playing at the Italian Open or the German Open after an exhausting two weeks at the US Open 2020. This meant that he was underprepared for the French Open. He did well till the quarterfinals defeating Hugo Gaston in 5 sets in Round 4 but ran out of steam in the quarterfinals where he was defeated by Diego Schwartzman in yet another 5 set thriller. Hence, the Autrian could not reach a third consecutive French Open final.
The Austrian then got his indoor hard court season underway at the Vienna Open, his home tournament where he was the defending champion. Thiem was struggling with a foot injury which costed him his match against Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. The Russian defeated him in straight sets and went on to claim his 5th ATP title later in the week. Thiem decided to rest and not play at the Paris Masters, so that he could be fully fit for the Nitto ATP Finals.
| Tournament | Result |
| Australian Open | Runner-up |
| Rio Open | Quarterfinals |
| Cincinnati Masters | 1st Round |
| US Open | Champion |
| French Open | Quarterfinals |
| Vienna Open | Quarterfinals |
Nitto ATP Finals: Past Performance
This year will be Thiem’s 5th appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals. He has been knocked out in the round-robin stage 3 times. However, he managed to reach the finals of the event last year where he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a three set thriller. The Austrian won the first set but Tsitsipas came back winning the next 2, including a final set tiebreaker.
| Year | Result |
| 2016 | Round-Robin |
| 2017 | Round-Robin |
| 2018 | Round-Robin |
| 2019 | Runner-up |
Nitto ATP Finals: Prediction for Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem would be hoping to end the year on a high after a good performance in London. However, the Austrian has been struggling with foot injury and it will be interesting to see if that will be a hindrance in his quest for a maiden ATP Finals title. With Medvedev hitting top form with a title in Paris, Zverev winning back to back titles in Cologne, it will be difficult for Thiem this year. He will face either of Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in the Round-robin stage.
Expected Finish: Round-Robin stage
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Nirmit Mehta
(2425 Articles Published)