Thiem hopes to maintain focus after win over Nadal

Dominic Thiem remained perfect in group play the Nitto ATP Finals, as he defeated Rafael Nadal on Tuesday to sit atop the group standings.

The Austrian showcased some brilliant shot-making in his two and a half hour victory over the World No.2, as both men put on the performance of the tournament thus far. Ultimately, Thiem escaped with a 7-6(7) 7-6(4) victory to all but secure his spot in the semifinals.

"Indoors and on hard courts, it was probably one of the better matches I have ever played,” said Thiem after the match. “It came very close to last year's match against Novak here. That was also a second group match, which is probably the best three-setter I have ever played. Today came very close to that match and now the goal is to enjoy this victory and to maintain that level until Thursday.”

The World No.3, who finished runner-up last year, will face Russian Andrey Rublev in his final round robin match on Thursday. Although Thiem has lost his last two matches against Rublev, his two wins in London have granted him a lot of confidence.

"I think it was a great match from the first to the last point,” Thiem disclosed. “I was pretty lucky to get that first set. I was 2/5 down in the tie-break. Against Rafa, it is nice to win the first set but he is still there 100 per cent from the first to the last point. I knew that maybe I had a slight advantage when I won the first set, but I still had to stay super focused.”

"The match was at a very high level with all strokes,” added the US Open champion. “I am very happy with the way I served, because most of the time when I get the first serve in, I am on the offence and I have a good percentage to win the point. When I was in difficult situations like the first-set tie-break… the serve helped me out a lot. I think it is maybe the most important stroke in indoor tennis. I am very happy that it worked well.”

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