In a classic match-up between power and speed on Wednesday evening in the US Open quarter-finals, power emerged with a resounding victory.

Second seed Dominic Thiem overwhelmed #NextGenATP star Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows for the first time. The 27-year-old is the first Austrian US Open semi-finalist in tournament history and he will play third seed Daniil Medvedev for a spot in the final.

“I had a great feeling from the first moment on, actually,” Thiem said on court after his two-hour, four-minute victory. “It looks way easier on the scoresheet than it was.”

Thiem previously reached the last eight in New York in 2018. After battling Rafael Nadal for four hours and 49 minutes in an all-time slugfest before falling short in a fifth-set tie-break, the disappointed Austrian said the match was, “going to be stuck in my mind forever”.

The 16-time ATP Tour champion has no reason to be disappointed this time. Thiem’s big serving and heavy baseline game proved too much for the 21-year-old Aussie speedster, who simply couldn’t find a solution to make the World No. 3 uncomfortable for long enough stretches.

De Minaur is known for his blinding quickness, but he played an aggressive match. The Aussie tried returning Thiem’s serve inside the court and rushing the net to put pressure on the Austrian and push him back. It simply didn’t work. The 21st seed won 18 of his 28 net points, but was only able to win 49 per cent of points behind his first serve.

Both players took some time to gain rhythm in the early going, with four of the first six games resulting in service breaks. Thiem rallied from a 0/40 deficit to hold serve for 4-1 in the opening set and he settled in from there.

De Minaur pressed to try to gain some momentum, but lost serve twice in the second set by double faulting. It is rare that the Aussie gets frustrated, but he struggled finding a way to make an impact on Thiem’s game, or at least do something to reduce the Austrian’s level. He battled hard throughout the entire match, shouting, ‘Come on!’ whenever he won a good rally or hit an impressive winner.

That eventually paid off, when Thiem let slip his level for a short moment in the third set. The 27-year-old smacked a backhand into the net to lose serve at 3-2, giving De Minaur new life. The Aussie suddenly began showing the world his trademark speed and tenacity. But it proved too late, as he missed a backhand slice long at 4-4 to give back the break.

“Third set I lost a little bit the momentum, the energy and he came back great,” Thiem said. “It was a crucial game at 3-4… broke him with a really game for 5-4 and then served out almost perfectly.”

Thiem crushed his 43rd winner to close out his victory. He took a 2-0 ATP Head2Head series lead into their clash, but he was adamant beforehand that those meetings meant little since De Minaur was a teenager at the time. The Austrian showed that while the Aussie has improved, so has he.

The second seed has lost just nine games in his past five sets. He is a long way removed from only winning three games in an opening-round loss against Filip Krajinovic two weeks ago at the Western & Southern Open.

Nobody left in the draw has reached more Grand Slam finals than Thiem (3), but his next opponent, Medvedev, made the final in New York last year, losing against Nadal in five sets.

“There is no Roger, Rafa or Novak, but there is Daniil, Sascha and Pablo. They are three amazing players. Every single one of us deserves his first major title,” Thiem said. “Everyone will give it all and that’s what’s on the mind. Once we step on the court, the other three are forgotten anyway.”

Rafael Nadal is getting ready to return to ATP Tour action next week, when he will pursue a 10th Internazionali BNL d’Italia title. The Spaniard has recently been training with 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov.

The World No. 2 did not compete in the Western & Southern Open or the US Open, so Rome will be his first tournament since February when he lifted his 85th tour-level title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado for HSBC.

Nadal has been preparing for his return at his Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar. Nobody has enjoyed more success in Rome than Nadal, who holds a 61-6 record at the event.

The 35-time ATP Masters 1000 champion can break a tie with Novak Djokovic for the most trophies at that level if he triumphs at the Foro Italico. The most titles Nadal has won at a single tournament is 12 at Roland Garros.

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^{Photo Credit: Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar}
The lefty has won the past two titles in Rome, defeating Djokovic en route to both the 2018 and 2019 trophies. Nadal has not lost before the quarter-finals of the event since 2008, when he fell in his opener against former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Dimitrov, the former World No. 3, chose Nadal’s academy to make his preparations for the upcoming clay-court swing. The Bulgarian made the 2014 Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-finals, losing against Nadal. He lost a five-setter in the second round of the US Open against Marton Fucsovics. Four-time ATP Tour titlist Pablo Andujar has also recently trained with Nadal.

If there is one trait that has characterised Nicolas Massu during his life, it is the ability to adapt. In fact, one of the reasons Dominic Thiem included him in his team as a coach, in February 2019, was so that, among other things, he could help him transition to other surfaces. For this reason, the multitude of changes to the sport since the resumption of the ATP Tour has not been a huge inconvenience to the Chilean.

“Life is strange right now, everything is strange”, Massu told ATPTour.com. “Being in a 23,000-seater stadium with nobody in it, the Tour having been suspended due to a pandemic, being in a bubble without being able to leave the club or the hotel, that the three biggest players in history [Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic] aren’t in the quarter-finals of the US Open, that we have non-stop tournaments from here until the end of the year.

Everything is strange. But you can’t spend your time analysing all the changes. It is what it is. The priority is still competing and, hopefully, winning.”

The Chilean’s first experience after the return of the ATP Tour was also unusual. His pupil lost his opener at the Western & Southern Open, ensuring he would have a whole week without competing until the start of the US Open, at the same venue. In addition, the bubble of the complex and hotel established new dynamics that Massu would have to get used to very quickly. How? By knuckling down.

“There are restrictions everywhere. But it is what it is,” said Massu. “The important thing is playing. There will be time to discover more about the tournament’s city later. While this is happening, I’m watching a lot of matches, I take a look back at Dominic’s to see what he can improve on. I spend time on my own, thinking, analysing the next match, which in the end is the most important thing about tennis.

“Also, I spend a lot of time in the gym, at least two hours a day. I do aerobics, weights. Five times a week I try to do that, and it kills two hours a day. Sometimes it’s me who knocks up with Dominic, I also exercise with him on court… That really motivates me: keeping myself fit.”

He is also motivated by keeping an eye on the Chilean players. Such is the case of Cristian Garín, whom he was cheering on from the stands in the bubble in New York.

“I love that there are Chileans in big tournaments and that there is friendship there. I’m the Davis Cup captain and I try to support them,” said Massu. “[Cristian] was playing really well when [the ATP Tour] was suspended. Now it’s a question of him playing in more tournaments to earn confidence and to get comfortable after so long without competing.”

What has not changed for Massu, compared to life before the pandemic, is that his pupil Dominic Thiem continues to live up to his seeding at Grand Slam tournaments. Since being under the tutelage of Massu, Thiem has played five majors. During that time, the Austrian has reached finals at Roland Garros in 2019 (l. to Nadal) and this year’s Australian Open (l. to Djokovic).

At the 2020 US Open, he has maintained his streak of reaching the later rounds and handling the pressure. One day after becoming the highest remaining seed in the draw, following Novak Djokovic’s fourth-round exit, the World No. 3 beat #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets.

“I was very happy with the way Dominic played. I’ll watch that match again several times to analyse it and see what he did well and what he can continue to improve. But I think wins like this have to give him confidence for what is to come,” said Massu, who also spoke of unexpectedly seeing his 27-year-old pupil become the second-oldest player in the quarter-finals of the US Open.

“Everything’s different now. Strange. But it will be a question of getting used to it. Now there are young players who have a lot of potential. If they’re in the Top 30 at that age it’s because they’re playing well. They’re going to lead the future change of generations. Tennis is going through a phase in which this kind of player is reaching the very top,” said Massu, who is looking no further than Thiem’s quarter-final match against Alex de Minaur.

“We’re just focusing on what comes next. Nothing more,” said Massu. “Whether or not the best in history are in these rounds is out of my hands. What I can do is concern myself with the next match. And in my head there is nothing other than that next match. It will require the utmost concentration”.