“It’s usually not easy to play after an injury” – 100 percent fit Medvedev spoils party for Thiem in Vienna

Dominic Thiem is working his way back to elite form after a difficult run of injury bad luck. Daniil Medvedev, meanwhile, is looking elite despite a recent adductor injury, suffered at the Astana Open two weeks ago.

In a battle of former US Open champions, Medvedev quieted the Vienna faithful by taking down Thiem in an entertaining affair, 6-3, 6-3.

The scoreline suggests an easy victory, but for Medvedev it was anything but.

Could go either way

“It was a tough match, one hour 40,” Medvedev said. “When it’s one hour 40 and you win 6-3, 6-3 then it was a tough match, and could go either way from one side; but in the other perspective, at one moment in the match, I started to put a lot of pressure on his serve. I was serving good myself, so I didn’t give him too many opportunities on my serve. 

“That was the key today, I think.”

The former world No 1, who improves to 42-15 on the season with his win, broke open the match by winning a tight seventh game in the opening set. He converted his fourth break point of the game, took the momentum and reeled off the final four games of the set, in total.

“That was the first game in the match where I actually won the first point on his serve,” Medvedev said after the match, speaking with Tennis TV’s Lee Goodall. “Otherwise it was 40-love for him all the time. So a little bit tougher to break. And this game I managed to put pressure on him. He had two or three game points where I managed to bring him back to deuce, which is really important. 

“When I won this game I got a little bit of momentum during the match.” 

Thiem, who saved two match points to earn a big victory over Tommy Paul in the first round, has now dropped six straight matches and 12 consecutive sets against the top-10.

He falls to 18-16 on the season, but will rise to 107 in the ATP rankings next week thanks to his first-round victory.

Feeling 100 percent fit after injury scare

Most important for Medvedev is the status of his adductor injury, which he referred to as a medium-grade tear before the tournament. The 26-year-old says he feels great after two rounds in Vienna, a sign that the injury is fully behind him.

“Really happy because I haven’t played tennis for a week and a half,” Medvedev said. “I played for the first time at 100 percent on Saturday before the tournament. That’s where I didn’t feel bad. And I was like, ‘Okay, I’m coming to Vienna, I’ll see how good I can play.’ It’s usually not easy to play after an injury. 

“Today I played great, I was moving great. And in some points that I lost. I was catching the balls where if I could catch it, I got it. If I couldn’t, it was too good from him, so generally really happy with myself today.”

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