PARIS – Start by giving Dominic Thiem his due. The Austrian won the biggest match of his ascending career with a 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0 quarterfinal takedown of Novak Djokovic. Serving well, moving with grace and zinging his extravagant backhand with conviction, Thiem pulled out a first-set tiebreak and then—a real mark of top player—played front-runner, dropping just three of the next 15 games to close it out in three sets and two hours and 15 minutes.
He now faces Rafael Nadal, whom he beat on the clay of Rome less than a month ago. There are obvious differences between a Grand Slam semifinal and a match in Rome. There are obvious differences best-of-three and best-of-five sets. But if beating the defending champion was not enough, it must imbue Thiem with confidence knowing that he beat Nadal in their last encounter.
Without undermining Thiem: Novak Djokovic is officially in crisis mode. We've seen players fail to defend their titles; but it's hard to recall a player going out 6-3, 6-0 in the final two sets with tennis so mentally vacant, fans whistling in derision.
"The win here last year has brought a lot of different emotions," Djokovic said after the match. "Obviously it was a thrill and complete fulfillment. I have lived on that wave of excitement, I guess, till U.S. Open or so. And at the U.S. Open, I just was emotionally very flat and found myself in a situation that I hadn't faced before in the professional tennis career.
"It's obviously tough to get out of it and figure out the way how to move ahead. At least I'm trying. I'm trying to get better, trying to be on a high level again. I know that I have achieved the biggest heights in this sport, and that memory and that experience gives me enough reason to believe that I can do it again, although I'm aware that I'm not the only one....The world is not spinning only around me. I'm grateful for the attention, but, you know, there are many other players that deserve that, as well. As I said, the next chapter for me. So now I'm just figuring it all out, and obviously there are things to think about and to work on, and we'll see where it takes me."
A year ago, Djokovic went to Wimbledon holding all four major titles. This year, he'll head to Wimbledon holding zero major titles. The obligatory reminder that careers are not linear, that comebacks are almost de rigueur for top players. But say this: coach Agassi, you got your work cut out for you…..
More thoughts on a packed day of quarterfinals matches at the French Open on Wednesday:
