Novak Djokovic made his biggest statement of the clay-court season so far by defeating the in-form Dominic Thiem to advance to the final of the Madrid Open.
Having won the last three Grand Slam titles, the Serb will have the opportunity to hold all four majors at once for a second time in his illustrious career at Roland Garros next month but there had been question marks over his form since he trounced Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.
But those concerns are surely no longer there as Djokovic produced a defensive masterclass to down the Austrian world No. 5 with a 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4) win on Saturday evening.
The pair are considered to be the biggest threats to Nadal’s French Open throne and bookmakers struggled to split them heading into the tie.
Thiem arrived in Madrid fresh from an impressive title victory in Barcelona but world No. 1 Djokovic still has an extra gear than everyone else currently active on the ATP Tour.
Despite the Austrian swinging with his usual verve, two-time Madrid champion Djokovic was not to be bullied off the court and he showed off his steely competitive streak to down the 25-year-old in two tight tie-break sets.
After taking out Thiem in a match lasting two hours and 25 minutes, he will perhaps get a shot at Nadal – who is playing his way into form – in the final. The Spaniard takes on Stefanos Tsitsipas later on Saturday night.
Both faced very different scenarios in Friday’s quarter-finals. While Djokovic saw his match cancelled due to his opponent, Marin Cilic, suffering with food poisoning, Thiem was forced to save two match points in a dramatic win over Swiss great Roger Federer.
Having already beaten Nadal on the clay in 2019, Thiem was looking to complete his ‘Big Three’ set by taking out the top seed.
It was Djokovic who blinked first. A netted forehand at 15-40 gave Thiem an early break but the Serb soon wrestled it back to level proceedings at 3-3.
Djokovic was beginning to raise his level, utilising the drop-shot well and using a variety of depth and spin to stop Thiem finding his rhythm but he was forced to dig deep on serve again, saving two break points from 15-40 to hold for 5-4.
A tiebreak was required to separate them and with it came the point of the match.
With Thiem on the offensive, a first Djokovic stetch forced a backhand smash. It looked a clean winner but the Serb not only got there but sent the ball back over the Austrian’s head before eventually drawing an error,
A delighted Djokovic celebrated the point with a huge fist pump to the crowd and soon he was celebrating a one-set lead.
Thiem continued to press, thumping heavy balls in Djokovic’s direction but the Serb again escaped a break point in his opening service game of the second set.
Another chance came and went for Thiem. Djokovic moved into uber ball bouncing mode and landed him a second time violation of the match. The Madrid crowd whistled but the Serb had the last laugh, firing down an ace before holding.
Though Thiem did eventually convert at the fifth time of asking in the second set, he was broken just a game later before Djokovic levelled to 4-4.
Djokovic broke again at 5-5 but wobbled with the finish line in sight as Thiem forced a tiebreak.
But it was the top seed who prevailed, proving to the rest of the field that he will be a serious contender come the French Open next month.
