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Thiem hopes that “the button will open” for him in Dubai

For Austria’s tennis star Dominic Thiem, it will go on to the next tournament station in Dubai earlier than hoped. The Lower Austrian drew in a quarter-final thriller in Doha on Thursday against his Spanish “feared opponent” Roberto Bautista Agut 6: 7 (3), 6: 2.4: 6. Instead of preparing for a semi-final duel with Andrej Rublew, who had not played in the tournament so far, the corona test and the following hotel room quarantine were due on Friday.

“I will do a test tomorrow morning and then be in the hotel room all day so that nothing happens. If the result is negative, then we can fly to Dubai at night,” said Thiem. The experience of two three-set matches will be in the luggage. After a happy ending against the Russian Aslan Karazew in the round of 16, the fourth defeat followed against Bautista Agut in the fifth direct duel.

“It was a very good fight from start to finish, with a few cheap mistakes here and there, mistakes that shouldn’t happen in important scores, but if I compare it to Australia, it was definitely a step into the right one Direction “, the world number four tried to emphasize the positive. Above all in a playful way, there are of course things that can be improved. “But it was definitely a match that I can build on in Dubai. I hope that I can do a better job there,” said the 27-year-old.

From the paper form, he is the big hunted at the ATP500 event, as he was in Doha as the top seeded actor. “I have confidence in my tennis, but the whole level is very high with all players at this tournament and also in Dubai, so anything can happen,” said the Lichtenwörther. In any case, he has the level to play for the tournament victory. “But it also takes a bit of luck, the course of the game has to be right, you also have to reduce the errors in the right moments. If that succeeds, I can open the button in Dubai. If not, then not,” said Thiem . In Dubai he is still without a win, in his only appearance so far in 2015 he clearly failed in the first round against Bautista Agut.

Physical problems don’t bother Thiem, although according to his own statements he “twisted his knee slightly” at the end of the first sentence. “I only felt it for two or three points, then it was gone again, so there is no problem,” assured the ÖTV star, who is still without a title there even after his fourth appearance in Doha. In the world rankings, Thiem, for whom there was prize money of 35,060 dollars, will also appear in fourth place next week, but he will lose 500 points in terms of points.

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