Dominic Thiem makes Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer court admission at US Open
RAFAEL NADAL and Roger Federer deserve the chance to play all of their US Open matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium despite the impact that it has on the rest of the players on tour.
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That’s the opinion of Dominic Thiem, who declared that having to move from court to court is a big challenge.
The Austrian reached the last-16 at Flushing Meadows for the third successive year by defeating up-and-coming American Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4.
But while Nadal and Federer have played every match at the 23,000-seater Arthur Ashe, Thiem was moved out to Grandstand for the second time.
And the 24-year-old acknowledged the difficulty of being moved around given the differences of each court but insisted that world No 1 Nadal and No 2 Federer are well worthy of consistently topping the bill.
He told reporters: “Yeah, I mean, they deserve this. They are the best, so they deserve the best courts.
“It's not really a surprise. I think nobody's angry about that. It's just how it is.
“We have to fight all the way through to get a chance to play on these courts and get used to them.
Asked whether it’s a disadvantage to change conditions with each match, Thiem added: “It is, yeah.
“I mean, the biggest difference is Roland Garros, in my opinion, the center court to the other courts.
“Here I only played one-and-a-half sets in my life [on center court], so I don't really know how it is. In general, the center court is always bigger, a different view.
“So, yeah, you need some time to adjust to it.”
Thiem has never progressed past the fourth round of the US Open and could set up a potential quarter-final showdown with Nadal, which would book a return to Arthur Ashe.
And he revealed his desire to finally enjoy a positive last-16 tie in New York, particularly after his famous defeat to Juan Martin del Potro a year ago despite having had a two-set lead.
He smiled: “I didn't have any good experiences yet in the fourth round, so I don't rely on them!
“It’s always something special for me to reach the second round of a slam. Let's see who I play.
“But one thing is for sure: I will give everything to maybe make the first quarters here.”
Thiem will face Kevin Anderson after he overcame Denis Shapovalov in five sets.