Dominic Thiem vs Laslo Djere: 3 Keys To The Match

Thiem, has been on the comeback trail following a wrist injury that sidelined him for much of last season and it has not always been straightforward for the 29-year-old. But he gave a good account of himself against Djere, hitting his forehand particularly well with some of his down-the-line forehands leaving Djere completely flat-footed. Thiem also used drop shots to good effect on several occasions in the first set. But despite arguably playing the better tennis in the first set, Thiem lost it with Djere breaking decisively at the death to take it.

Djere was a too erratic for his own good in the match. He committed eight double faults, including one on the break point in the third game of the second set and another down set point. That allowed Thiem to come back into the match. Djere was the more aggressive player in the slightly faster conditions and hit 42 winners against Thiem’s 26. However, he also committed 40 unforced errors compared with the Austrian’s 30 with Thiem more disciplined in his approach. That proved to be decisive.

Djere may have hit more winners than his opponent, but Thiem proved to be a better judge of when to attack. Thiem approached the net more often as the match progressed and won a more than a few points with volleys and overhead smashes. He took the attack to the Serb, who wilted under pressure. Djere’s second serve was a real weakness and Thiem took full toll. The Serb could win only 35% of the points on his second serve against Thiem’s 59% and faced as many as 10 break points in the match.

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