"I think he's just becoming extremely match-tough" - Christopher Eubanks analyzes Dominic Thiem's stunning win against Tommy Paul
American tennis player Christopher Eubanks has opined that former US Open champion Dominic Thiem is improving day by day.
Thiem defeated the in-form American Tommy Paul 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(6) in a three-hour epic in front of his home crowd in Vienna.
During an appearance on the Tennis Channel, Eubanks pointed out how important match practice was to a player like Thiem, who began his comeback earlier this season by competing at Challenger events.
"I think he's just becoming extremely match-tough," Eubanks said. "He started off in the challengers having to work his way back and now we're seeing how important matches are to a player like Dominic Thiem. I think Jon highlighted one of the biggest points, the reaction."
This is a man who won a Grand Slam not that long ago and now to win a first-round in his home country in an ATP 500, to see so much energy and so much joy with it was telling for me to see him fall to the ground in a first-round win," Eubanks added.
Jon Wertheim, who was also on the program, opined that Thiem's issues from earlier in the season were mental rather than physical.
"He took some losses and went to the press room, including at the French where he'd reached the final, and we would be waiting to hear about an injury. But he'd be like, 'No, no, I feel fine I just have no confidence'. So this is not about the body as it is about the mind," said Wertheim.
Our #TCLive crew discusses @domithiem getting back to form after his comeback win today!
@Steve_Weissman | @jon_wertheim | @chris_eubanks96 https://t.co/Ni133ZxPYF
"That was a very special evening tonight" - Dominic Thiem after winning against Tommy Paul in Vienna
Dominic Thiem came from a set down and saved a couple of match points against Tommy Paul to win his first-round match at the 2022 Vienna Open.
In his post-match interview, the former World No. 3 credited the home fans for helping him get over the line.
"That was a very special evening tonight. I got off to a catastrophic start. And today something very special happened. Without the people, without the atmosphere, I would never have won the match, I dare say that. I want to say a huge thank you to the people. I could only fight to the end and that paid off today,” he said.