Constant Dominic Thiem «DiePresse.com

For the tenth consecutive year, London will host the finals of the ATP World Tour tomorrow, exclusive rally of the eight best tennis professionals of 2018. It's the theory with Rafael Nadal, second in the world, and fourth place World Juan Martin del Potro. (Knee) had two high caliber rings canceling their departure due to an injury. The fact that Dominic Thiem, the Austrian, opens for the third time in a row in the O2 Arena a place of choice in the world clbad, is proof not only of his playfulness, but also of his physical qualities at the end of a long season.

Thiem had won his ticket to London regardless of the rejections of Nadal and Del Potro, the annual ranking places him in eighth place. Qualifying for the finals of the World Tour is equivalent to a sporting reward, as it is produced by Konstanzzeugt, not by chance or by a hit. In 2018, new competitors signed up for one of the eight coveted courses. They come from around the world, including Karen Khachanov (22), Borna Ćorić (21) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (20). Thiem was able to defend the attacks of the younger competition, observed during the year, successfully. Looking more closely, Lichtenwörthers' constancy is amazing anyway.

Since June 6, 2016, the right-hand man is consistently in the top 10 worldwide. Only Nadal presents a much longer series. The Spaniard has belonged to this elite circle since April 2005 (!), Although he has been thrown like no other professional by injury time and time again from the track.

In order to catch Nadal's unfinished run according to his current status, Thiem is expected to be in the top 10 of the ranking in January 2029, at the age of 36. ,,,

On the sand, the current World Ranking League is considered a legitimate successor to the Mallorquin, but Thiem's ​​progress on hard ground has been far more striking. The 25-year-old has adapted and improved his game, especially on the return and the service – on even harder ground – worked. Also in the place and especially the position of return, that he changed again and again during a match, was filmed. The change in the three-point victory of the round of 16 in the US Open against South African Kevin Anderson, who is Sunday (3 pm, live on Sky) his first opponent in London. The other competitors: Kei Nishikori and Roger Federer. The top two in each group reach the semi-finals.

Recovery. The fact that Thiem played a good quarter last season for the first time in his career is a sure hope for his London performance. At the US Open New York early September, he reached the quarterfinals, followed by two wins at Daviscup against Australia in Graz and first title in the playoff (St. Petersburg). In his home tournament in Vienna, the title holder eleven times had been rehabilitated for the opening match in Shanghai, just before the finals of the World Tour Thiem had been convinced in Paris by the first semifinal of an ATP-1000 event on hard ground.

Starting with the US Open, Austria's second most successful tennis player of all time holds a record of 16: 3 and speaks of "the first good fall of my career". During the same period in 2017, six losses were only seven. The balance sheets of 2016 (8: 6), 2015 (7: 7) and 2014 (5: 6) were also unsatisfactory.

At home this season, Thiem looks cooler than in previous years, both physically and mentally. The main reason, as irritating as it may seem, is the tone and diseases of injuries throughout the year. Thus, Lower Austria had abandoned early March at Indian Wells (ankle) while preparing for the next tournament in Miami. At Wimbledon, he was stopped by a back bladder – and before Cincinnati, a viral infection put him out of action. In the short term, all these events were failures, but in the long run, Thiem experienced longer periods without tennis and declared, in early November: "The breaks have also had a positive effect.I'm fortunate to Feel fresh now. "

Perfect was the 2018 season of Dominic Thiem, regardless of the result of the World Tour final, far from it. Bresnik also sees him: "I am convinced that he knows that he can play much better," says the 57-year-old, whose protégé, including at the level of the nine ATP tournaments, 1000 compared to the rest of the world To catch up.

The best results are the finals of Madrid (defeat to Alexander Zverev) and the semi-final of Paris (defeat to Karen Khachanov). However, big drawbacks (Miami, Cincinnati), tasks (Indian Wells) and defeats (Rome, Toronto, Shanghai). Good results in Masters tournaments, as they are also called, are also important because they are part of the world ranking for 12 months, so count to the max. Only 31% (1215 points) brought his points in the world ranking, the fifth in the world ranking, Zverev. as a leader, however, a respectable 64 percent (3300 points).

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("Die Presse", printed edition, 11.11.2018)