Thiem Survives #NextGenATP Gaston's Drop Shot Deluge In Five

#NextGenATP Frenchman Hugo Gaston entered Roland Garros without a tour-level win. But Dominic Thiem, the two-time finalist at this event and recent US Open champion, needed everything he had to survive a drop shot deluge and end the 20-year-old’s fairy tale run.

An unorthodox game plan in which drop shots starred nearly crushed the hopes of one of the tournament favourites. But Thiem overcame the crafty lefty 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3 after three hours and 32 minutes in one of the best matches of the tournament.

"I think it was an amazing match by both of us," Thiem said on court. "Haven't seen for a very long time a player with such a big touch in his hands. His drop shots are just from another planet, I was sprinting like 400 times to the net. All the credit to him. If he continues like this, he's going to be a huge, huge player and make a lot of joy in this stadium in the future."

The match was fascinating theater, with Thiem the bull and Gaston the matador. There were moments when both men made mistakes, but the patterns of rallies were thrilling to watch. Thiem kept trying to hammer away with his groundstrokes, crushing 59 winners, while Gaston used his speed and variety to great effect.

Once the lefty got into a rhythm, he redefined the one-two punch. Instead of using his serve and forehand, Gaston hit drop shots and lobs to get Thiem off his game, especially when the 27-year-old was camped deep behind the baseline. The Austrian rarely adjusted his court positioning, and Gaston took full advantage.

"I couldn't find the right answer to [the drop shots],” Thiem said. “In the fifth set I found some new energy. I think I was playing very good again, but it was a great fight until the end and I'm very lucky I made it through today."

But going drop shot or bust had consequences for the home favourite. The feel that nearly helped propel Gaston — who was buoyed by the French crowd inside Court Philippe-Chatrier — to a stunning comeback, proved costly at the end of the deciding set. Gaston missed a drop shot into the net, giving Thiem the chance to serve out the match.

That did not prove easy for the third seed, who had to save a break point. The Frenchman stepped into a return, but got caught in no-man’s land and Thiem pummeled a forehand that caught out the wild card. Gaston later missed a forehand return into the net to bring to an end his extraordinary run. The 20-year-old enjoyed an impressive breakthrough at his home Grand Slam, thrilling his country with a run that included a stunning five-set victory against three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka.  

Thiem battled until the end, advancing to the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive year. He is the eighth man in the Open Era to reach five consecutive quarter-finals at the clay-court Grand Slam. The Austrian hasn’t lost before the semi-finals at this event since 2015, when he was 21.

World No. 239 Gaston was trying to become the lowest-ranked man to reach the Roland Garros quarter-finals since the FedEx ATP Rankings were introduced in 1973. He would have also become the first wild card to reach the last eight at the tournament since countryman Henri Leconte in 1992.

Thiem had not lost a set in the tournament entering the match, and he appeared in control through two sets. But Gaston showed why tennis can be an art form, showing no fear of the Austrian’s pure power. Thiem will next play Rome finalist and close friend Diego Schwartzman, who eliminated Italian Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets.

"Against Diego there will be some long rallies,” Thiem said. “He likes these conditions; it's a little slower and not so high bounce. It will be very difficult.”

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/3jw6TXv