Dominic Thiem’s New Edge

With his quarterfinal match still ahead of him, Dominic Thiem sat just off the practice courts with ESPN’s Chris McKendry. The topic: how on earth did he plan to beat Rafael Nadal?

Thiem is one of the best clay court players in the world, but success has eluded him on other surfaces. Going into the match with Nadal, he’d never been past the quarters at a major besides Roland Garros.

And just months prior, Nadal had beaten him soundly in the French Open final. If he couldn’t hang with Nadal on what was his own best surface, what could he manage on an outdoor hard court?

McKendry didn’t have to utter these exact words for the sentiment to ring clear. Thiem bristled ever so slightly — as much as someone of Thiem’s meek disposition can. “Of course, I don’t want to be known as just a clay court specialist.”

The same edge that crept into his voice later exploded on the court. He bageled the best player in the world in the opening set, a statement if ever such a thing existed on a tennis court. Guns blazing, Thiem reflected the question of his proficiency on other surfaces back to the world: “Not bad for a clay court specialist, eh?”

The edge re-appeared when Thiem relinquished a break in the third set that could have put him ahead 2–1. Walking back to his chair, he turned to his box and gave a self-loathing fist-pump, a gesture more likely from Djokovic than Thiem. Who was this hothead?

It’s no coincidence that on this night, Thiem would produced the first classic match of his career, a five-set epic worthy of the cliché about no winners and losers. Thiem’s always played with risk and effort, but on big occasions, the conviction hasn’t always been there. Conviction is less about effort and more about certainty that what you’re doing is right, regardless of the result.

On Tuesday, he played with conviction. He played with a chip on his shoulder and at least partially acquitted himself of the “clay court specialist” label. He played the match like a test, a benchmark to see how much further he needed to go to win a contest of this magnitude.

Based on the evidence, not much further.

Originally published at www.fifteenfortytennis.com.