Thiem: 'I Didn't Expect To Win'

At one stage in his quarter-final against No. 12 seed David Goffin on Thursday at Roland Garros, not even Dominic Thiem himself believed he was going to win.

Facing a set point in the second-set tie-break that could have left him trailing by two sets, Thiem erased Goffin’s chance with a strong forehand and continued to find his form as the match went on. Reeling off nine consecutive games at one stage, the Austrian prevailed in four sets to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.

“In the entire second set, I didn’t really think that I was going to win this match. He was the better player for the first two sets or at least until the tie-break,” said Thiem. “I didn’t know what to do because he was returning well. He didn’t make any mistakes. I think the tie-break was the highest level I’ve ever played and then things started to turn around.”

Both players struggled at moments to handle the cold and rainy conditions on court. Although Thiem admitted they were less than ideal, he became more comfortable with them as the match progressed.

“It’s strange. It’s the beginning of June and it’s 11 degrees and raining,” said Thiem. “For the first two sets he handled it better, and then with this very special tie-break, things turned around and I started to get better.”

The win on Thursday also ensures that Thiem will make his debut inside the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings when next week’s standings are released. He is guaranteed to place no lower than No. 7.

Thiem will now play No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic for a place in Sunday’s final. The Serbian leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0, with both wins coming in straight sets. The pair have won more matches than anyone else on tour this year, with Djokovic at 42 victories and Thiem at 41.

“It’s going to be unbelievably tough. I think he’s on a different level than all the other players, but I’m still in good shape and the match starts at 0-0,” said Thiem. “All I can do is give all I have and then we will see what happens.”