Thiem’s US Open and St. Petersburg performances are an indicator of things to come

Dominic Thiem has been in great form on hard courts recently. After reaching his first slam quarterfinal outside the French Open (clay), Thiem just barely lost to Nadal in a thrilling 5 setter in the US Open and recently won his first indoor title: completing a title at each surface type. What’s to come for Thiem next?

After a poor follow up to the French Open which saw Thiem crash out in the first round of both Halle and Wimbledon, what was expected to be a good mini clay swing also ended poorly for Thiem.

Hard Court Season till the US Open

Things didn’t really seem to improve at Toronto where Thiem was outclassed by Stefanos Tsitsipas in Thiem’s first match. Pulling out of Cincinnati with an injury and poor form in preceding tournaments, little was expected from Thiem at the US Open. However, a seemingly rejuvenated Thiem played well through his opening rounds, especially against American youngster Taylor Fritz who was playing some solid tennis. After overcoming Fritz, Thiem annihilated Kevin Anderson. While the scoreline suggests a tough three-setter, the use of annihilation is simply because of how hard Thiem was hitting the ball that day. There simply was little that Anderson could do.

Nadal was to be a different test altogether. After bagelling Nadal in the first, the pair engaged in what was perhaps the best match of the season. A fifth set tiebreak ensued and Thiem’s erroneous overhead smash meant the match was Rafa’s.

Changes in tactics, scheduling, performance at St. Petersburg and what’s to come

Thiem won his first indoor hard title at St. Petersburg fairly convincingly. One of the most efficient methods utilised by Thiem since the US Open is…you guessed it: hitting harder. That makes up a chunk of what has changed in Theim’s tactics. His on-court positioning has improved as well, signifying a better understanding of the movement and footwork required for hard courts.

One of the biggest issues with Thiem, however, is that he’s inconsistent. There’s very little that stops him from losing against a player ranked outside the top 150 and beating Nadal on clay. However, one crucial area where Thiem has learned from his past is his scheduling: he seems to have understood that he cannot play every tournament week in and week out. He’s currently scheduled to play Shanghai, Vienna and Paris. Hopefully,

this prudent decision making carries on to the 2019 season.