After a sensational victory over Rafael Nadal, Domnic Thiem was brutally destroyed by Novak Djokovic in the semi finals of the Rome Open. Thiem was put away by the World number two 6-0, 6-1 after barely an hour of tennis. In the press conference after the match, Domnic Thiem explains the reason for his loss to Djokovic.
When asked about the reason for his meek loss to Djokovic, Theim said that he was mentally exhausted after his victory over Nadal. So much so, that he did not even feel confident about performing to his best against Djokovic.
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‘Well, it’s not really frustrating. There are some reasons why this happened today. I mean, first of all, they are different type of players.Against Novak, it’s really tough for me to play, I mean, because he doesn’t give me any time. I don’t really like to play against him, because he has a game style which doesn’t fit me at all.
Yeah, then, also it was the first time for me to play on such a high level for three weeks or more, and today I paid a little bit the price for that.’
When asked if he was surprised with Djokovic’s intensity right from the start of the match, Thiem said that he did not expect anything less from the world number two.
‘Well, he was really there from the first point. He was pushing himself. I mean, I was not surprised. I was expecting that from him, but I couldn’t really do anything against it, because I was empty. I was just not mentally on the level I should be against these opponents. It happens from time to time if you play a lot of matches. And if it happens against a guy like Novak, 6-0, 6-1 or a score like this, is the logical outcome.’
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Thiem was then asked about his poor record against Djokovic. When asked if this was a mental issue, Thiem said that it was not one.
‘No, of course I go in and I try to beat also the players I don’t like to play against from the game style.But still, of course, it’s a little bit tougher. Also, of course, everybody knows, or everybody knows how he feels himself before a match.
Actually, I was already a little bit tired in the end of the match against Querrey, and then I was surprised by myself how I went out yesterday but also knew that it’s not gonna be like that forever.’
