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To be in the confrontation of the eight best players of the year 2018 in two weeks, Thiem needs his best result so far in Vienna. Only with the entry in the semifinals, Austria's number one could look around a quarter in the British capital. More recently, Thiem was not able to score many points in the Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai. After the end of the first round, Australian Matthew Ebden came in the second round.
In "Race to London", do not count all entries in the calendar year tournaments, but only all Grand Slam and Masters 1000 tournaments and beyond the top six additional events. A special rule applies to the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo, for which there is no obligation to start and which counts for the world ranking as a 500er event.
The fans of the lot
The Wiener Stadthalle was not the best place for Thiem until now. In seven participations in the main competition, that was enough for the quarter-finals of Lower Austria in 2013. Thiem then retired twice in the first round, then twice in the second round. Unlike the previous two years, he comes a lot better for his home tournament, so Thiem.
In addition to the world number seven, Kevin Anderson (RSA / ATP-8), Grigor Dimitrow (BUL / 9.) and John Isner (USA / 10.) are among the top ten players. There are also Kei Nishikori (JPN / 11), Borna Coric (CRO / 13.) and Fabio Fognini (ITA / 14.). "Absolute world-clbad players are waiting in the first round, so no matter where you sit," Thiem says in the interview given to the ORF, "it's nice to watch, but this is n & rsquo; Is only for your personal well-being. "
The toughest pursuers of the 25-year-old French Open finalist, who won his first indoor title in St. Petersburg, are all racing. Currently, Thiem is eighth, Nishikori being the ninth 535 meter, Isner 605 on Thiem. The top eight qualify for the "Masters" in the O2 Arena, with Juan Martin Del Potro, who is behind Thiem, missing a patellar fracture for the rest of the season, while the outsiders also have Coric (1,235 points behind Thiem) and Fognini (1,310). "
Mixed teacher performances
The coach of Thiem, Günter Bresnik, is still not convinced of the hat trick of his protégé. "It can still make two people move relatively easily," Bresnik said in an interview with APA. "Paris is often a strange tournament, people often win, but they have not won much all year," said Bresnik, referring to the last tournament of the week in Vienna, Paris-Bercy, "Isner and Nishikori have played so little, that (almost) every point counts, Isner can theoretically earn 1,700 points in three weeks."
The Masters 1000 season, which ends at Paris-Bercy, went wrong for Thiem outside the Madrid final. "If I look at the year, he is now in the race at eight: he played two-thirds of the year well below his potential, no matter the reason, injury, illness or anything else. it does not matter .If he only plays normally for six months, he's crazy. "He has some understanding of illness and injury. In any case, Bresnik prefers that Thiem physically reaches the limit.
Whether it's problems with home tournaments or high expectations of himself, Bresnik does not want to hear anything. "I get sick if I keep hearing that, he has no problem with the expectations of others or himself: a top-10 tennis player who is playing a tournament hopes to win the tournament." And Dominic does not want to earn less in St. Petersburg than at the Stadthalle. "
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