New Year, Different Fifth-Set Result For Thiem | ATP World Tour

One year ago, Dominic Thiem’s run at the US Open ended in heartbreak in the fourth round. A two-set lead and two match points in the fourth set against eventual semi-finalist Juan Martin del Potro all disappeared. The Austrian had one foot in his first quarter-final at a Grand Slam other than Roland Garros, but the Argentine and his fearsome forehand knocked him right back out in a five-set classic.

But this time, Thiem did not let slip a fifth set in New York, beating home favourite Steve Johnson 6-7(5), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the third round, where he will play another American in #NextGenATP Taylor Fritz.

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Thiem is now 3-1 in five-setters at the US Open, also beating Ernests Gulbis in 2014 and John Millman in 2016. It was a confidence-boosting victory for the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals competitor, who had won just three of his previous nine matches when he arrived at Flushing Meadows. 

Last October, Johnson earned the biggest win of his career by ATP Ranking, defeating then-World No. 7 Dominic Thiem in Tokyo. And after taking a tight first set in a tie-break, it looked like this year’s Houston and Newport champion would thrill his home crowd to reach the third round of the US Open for the second time.

But ninth-seeded Thiem had too much from the baseline. Johnson rolled his ankle in the middle of the second set, but showed few ill effects as the match wore on. What did affect Johnson were Thiem’s heavy groundstrokes, burying last week’s Winston-Salem finalist in the backhand corner, making it difficult for the World No. 31 to run around and hit his favoured forehand.

And while Johnson battled until the end, Thiem moved on after three hours and 34 minutes thanks to an impressive 67 winners to his opponent’s 49. Thiem also did well finishing points off by approaching to the American’s backhand, winning 41 of 53 net points in the battle.

His next opponent, Fritz, advanced to the third round at the US Open for the first time. After taking a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 lead after two hours and 12 minutes, Jason Kubler retired. The Aussie severely rolled his right ankle running to a forehand deep in the third set.

“It’s not the way that you want to be in the third round, but I do feel like I have worked really hard and I deserve it,” Fritz said. “So I am happy to be moving forward and excited for my next match.”

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Thiem and Fritz’s only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting came here last year, when the Austrian toughed the home favourite out in a tight four-setter, in which Fritz converted just two of 18 break points. 

“We had a really close match. I had triple set point to take it to a fifth,” Fritz said. “I’m a much better player than I was last year, so I’m excited for this match.”