Thiem looks to translate clay form to hard court success

The consensus would seem to be that if Dominic Thiem is to win a grand slam title, then it will come on his beloved clay. After all, he reached the final at Roland-Garros this year and nine of his 10 career titles have come on the dirt.

But at the US Open, the Austrian is proving that hard courts may also be his friend, with his 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 win over the American, Taylor Fritz, sending him through to the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the fourth time in the past five years.

“It was a really tough match,” Thiem said. “He played very well. Already last year was a close match against him in the second round. We hopefully improved in this one year. I expected a tough and close one again, which it was at the end.

“I started a little bit too slow, then pumped myself up with maybe not the best ways (when he smashed his racket), but still I pumped myself up. At the end it was really funny and also strange with the rain delay (which happened at 5-4 in the fourth set). Maybe that (helped) and I broke him again.”

“Juan was appearing again”

Last year, Thiem was agonisingly close to reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, holding two match points against Juan Martin Del Potro, only to be reeled back in.

It was a defeat that took a bit of getting over and when Thiem failed to serve out from 5-3, 30-0 in the fourth set against Fritz, losing his serve after back to back double faults, he was fearing the worst.

“Juan was appearing again after I missed 5-3, 30-love,” Thiem said, with a smile. “(Last year’s match) was tough of course, but it was also only a lost tennis match. Nothing worse should happen, you know. It was painful for one or two days, but then I moved on. I mean, life goes on. It was, of course, very tough, but at the end only a tennis match.”

A bid to make the last eight

It is that kind of attitude that has helped Thiem retain his place inside the top 10 this year and the 24-year-old is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to make the last eight for the first time, including standing closer to the baseline on returns.

“I have to, on hard courts,” he said. “I have to move closer to the lines. First serve I think, especially against a really good server like Taylor, it's impossible to return far back. Second serve, I try to mix it up a little bit. But in general, of course, I'm practising to come close to the baseline, especially on this surface.

“I didn't have any good experiences yet in the fourth round, so I don't rely on them,” he said. “It's always something special for me to reach the second (week) of a slam. Let's see who I play. But one thing is for sure. I will give everything to maybe make the first quarters here.”

Thiem will now play Kevin Anderson, the South African who reached the final here last year and the final at Wimbledon last month, after he edged out Denis Shapovalov in five sets.

His only win in their seven encounters came on clay in Madrid earlier this year and Thiem knows he will have to play close to his very best to have a chance.

“He's one of the hottest players on tour right now. Last four slams, he made two finals. Out of the big servers, he's, I think, the one with the best baseline game and with the best return. You are under pressure basically the whole match. There's a reason why he's I think No 5 now, why he’s had so much success, because he's just playing amazing.”