Thursday’s marquee matchup at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters did not disappoint, as Novak Djokovic continued to show signs of improvement but did not have quite enough to hold off two-time French Open semifinalist Dominic Thiem. In a battle that lasted two hours and 29 minutes, Thiem recovered from a first-set collapse to win their third-round affair 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3.
Monte-Carlo’s No. 5 seed raced to a 3-0 lead in the opener and eventually earned one set point with Djokovic serving at 3-5 before holding two set points on his own serve starting at 5-3, 40-15. Multiple double-faults, however, contributed to Thiem getting broken and he soon surrendered the set in a tiebreaker.
But Djokovic, who still impressed relative to his previous comeback efforts in Indian Wells and Miami, could not maintain momentum. The 13th-ranked Serb never broke Thiem again, failing to convert either of two break points in the second and going without a break opportunity in the third.
“Every win is important, especially against such a great player as Novak,” Thiem noted. “It was important for my self-confidence, to know I’m physically 100 percent again. It was a great win. Of course it’s important, but tomorrow is a new day.”
Thiem-Djokovic highlights:
It does not get any easier for Thiem, who had to save one match point just to get out of his opening match against Andrey Rublev–which he ended up winning 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. Next up for the Austrian is Rafael Nadal, who is 5-2 in the head-to-head series and went 3-1 against Thiem during last year’s clay-court swing.
“It’s the ultimate challenge for everybody, to play against him (Nadal),” Thiem assured. “For sure tomorrow, I have to raise my level again. I think I’m able to do that. If you do so, I’m going to have chances tomorrow. If not, I’m out. It’s pretty easy… Of course, I would have liked to have faced him later in the tournament. But the draw was a little bit unlucky for me, especially. Hopefully for him, as well, tomorrow.”
Nothing has been tough so far for the 10-time Monte-Carlo champion, who has advanced with straight-set routs of Aljaz Bedene and Karen Khachanov. Nadal surged to a 3-0 lead over Khachanov right off the bat and he never looked back, ultimately prevailing 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 19 minutes.
Nadal-Khachanov highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MxqacdXz0M
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well played, Thiem