Thiem and Ofner against US local heroes in the 3rd round of the US Open

Ofner is a clear outsider against Frances Tiafoe, tenth in the world rankings and also number ten. This will probably be a match on a big stage. But Thiem against Ben Shelton would also have to be played on one of the main pitches, it could be an open game. If the home advantage speaks for Shelton as well as for Tiafoe, Thiem can rely on regained self-confidence. At the beginning of the month, his fans had cheered for a strong performance in Kitzbühel and for reaching the final, but then “a kind of gastritis” came and Winston-Salem was rejected. In the first round of Flushing Meadows, however, the 2020 title holder presented himself calmly and was not upset by antics by Alexander Bublik. The Kazakh didn’t have the best day, Thiem found his way back into his game quite well.

His stomach problems are not completely gone, but the energy was back against Bublik, said Thiem. “It wasn’t there in the last few days, so I didn’t feel good. But after a few days’ break it got better and now it’s really okay.” His first win in a major after six consecutive defeats landed him in a place that was important to him, even if he remembered the dramatic defeat in 2017 against the Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro the most: “A legendary match back then.”

Thiem does not want to overestimate this year’s victory against Shelton on the sand of Estoril. “He feels absolutely fine on hard court,” said the 29-year-old, among other things, referring to the 20-year-old’s quarter-finals at the Australian Open. “He also moves really, really well, has an incredible pull in his arm, an incredibly fast movement, an incredibly fast serve.” A key will again be the return. He, Thiem, returned really well against Bublik. “I have to make sure that I get a lot of balls back into play.”

In general, he feels comfortable again on the baseline, against Bublik the US Open triumphant in 2020 was a little further up than he has often been in the past. Since the Kitzbühel week at the beginning of the month, he has again had the feeling “that maybe there is still a big hit in there. Kitzbühel has given me another push, with the atmosphere and finally won tight games again.” He also defeated good opponents. “I just feel good with my tennis. The goal is definitely to really ignite again in such a big tournament.”

The goal is the top 50

With the opening victory, Thiem Ofner has moved closer in the virtual ranking, there could well be a new Austrian number one after these two weeks. But Ofner still has the trumps in his hand, he is still fully in the game. In terms of ranking, the 27-year-old from Styria does not think against Thiem, but for himself. “My goal this year is the top 50. I still have a few tournaments to do that.” Because Ofner has little to defend. Of course, he is aware that the chances of further points increasing at the US Open are not so good.

He doesn’t put pressure on 25-year-old Tiafoe. “I’ll start the game more easily. I haven’t played that many times against players like that. Maybe something will work out, maybe a set.” Ofner had an opponent of this size in the French Open round of 16 with Stefanos Tsitsipas as an opponent, against the then number five it was not enough to win a set. He is happy to be in the main draw at the US Open for the first time. “I’ve always had the feeling that this is the Grand Slam where I find it most difficult.”

Ofner did not intend to put too much strain on Tuesday, because in addition to singles he could also play doubles on Wednesday and thus have to play two matches at the same time. “It was clear to me that I wanted to play doubles – for the first time in a Grand Slam.” Like his partner Alexandre Muller, he plays in the Rosenheim championship, and the Frenchman then asked about the joint US Open appearance. They came into the main draw as the penultimate duo.