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NITTO ATP FINALS


November 10, 2019


Dominic Thiem


London, England, United Kingdom

D. THIEM/R. Federer

7-5, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How would you describe your mental toughness to fight against Roger and win Roger in so many matches?
DOMINIC THIEM: To beat him, everything has to fit together. Today I think was the case again. I played very well.

I played a good match in general. Serving, returning well, which is probably the two most important things indoor. Then probably also the last game was crucial. I don't even want to think about what happens if he makes that game and comes back to a tiebreak, so I'm very happy that I pulled that through at 6-5.

In general, it's a very nice victory for me. I mean, every time only playing against him is a big honor. Beating him is even better, and especially on this surface indoor where he's feeling well usually.

Q. Everyone is saying that the court is really fast this year. Theoretically that would favor Roger. How do you deal with that?
DOMINIC THIEM: It's pretty fast, yeah. It's similar to Bercy, which was also fast.

But, I mean, there are not only disadvantages for me on this kind of court. Also I love to hit my backhand in a comfortable hit, and it's not nice for me to hit it on clay or on a slower hard court if it's bouncing too high, because it's also probably the most effective if it's bouncing low, like here. So there are also some advantages for me on these fast courts.

Today I was returning and serving very good, and that's, as I said, the two most important shots indoors and on a fast surface.

Q. What do you think you can do to, you know, one more time in this tournament, you know, be the one that upsets the big 3 of this generation of tennis? Just like Zverev did last year, you know, winning big time here against Djoko.
DOMINIC THIEM: Well, the way to that is still very long. I have my next match on Tuesday against Novak. The system is pretty brutal, I would say, because I had amazing victory today.

I'm feeling great. I'm feeling now that I have a good chance to reach the semis, but if I lose on Tuesday, for example, everything is completely open again, and I have to worry about everything on the next match on Thursday.

So the only thing I can do is to rest well tomorrow, practice well, and be fully focused again on Tuesday.

Q. Did you watch events in Perth? If so, was it inspiring for you?
DOMINIC THIEM: I didn't watch it. It was too early. I mean, I cannot disturb my preparation (smiling).

But, I mean, what France did or of course what particularly Kiki did, she wrote history today to win the Fed Cup abroad in Perth with three points, beating World No. 1. Especially in the last year of this version of the Fed Cup is unbelievable, and probably she didn't realize yet what she achieved.

Well, it's something very few players only achieve, so I'm super happy for her. Well, nobody deserves it more than her.

Q. So you're playing Djokovic now, and the last time you played was at the French Open and you won. What do you expect from the match with Djokovic?
DOMINIC THIEM: I think he's the best right now. He proved that also in Bercy where he didn't somehow play his best tennis but still won the title pretty easy, so that's how good his level is.

But I will watch that match in Roland Garros a little bit, because it was very good of course. Was also, most of the time, the right tactics I played. Of course it's not the same here. Was clay outdoor back then and now indoor.

But some things I can use, for sure, in the match on Tuesday and will use to practice for that tomorrow, and probably right now it's the biggest challenge you can face, to play Novak.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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