Kevin Anderson and Dominic Thiem will go head to head in the robin-round of ATP World Tour Finals on Sunday in London. This will be the first appearance by the two players in the tournament.
The Kevin Anderson v Dominic Thiem 2018 ATP Finals robin-round match will be played on Sunday, November 11, at 2:00 pm local time (1:00 pm GMT). Watch the Kevin Anderson v Dominic Thiem live streaming here.
The two players are coming into this competition on the back of a pretty splendid season. While there is a considerable age difference between the two players, their form and consistency have been on pretty much the same wavelength.
Anderson v Thiem Head to Head
The South African No. 1 leads 6-2 over his Austrian adversary. Anderson heavily dominated their first six meetings, winning all of his encounters against Thiem in straight sets. However, in their last two bouts, Thiem has come out on the top with a couple of impressive victories.
The two players have met twice in 2018 – in the semifinal of Madrid Masters and in the fourth round of US Open. The young Austrian won on both the occasions without dropping a single set.
Anderson’s Consistency in 2018
Anderson started the year as the World No. 14 but he rose through the ranks and broke into the top 10 owing to a highly consistent performance. He also reached his career-high singles ranking at World No. 5, only to settle for the No. 6 spot.
The 32-year old started his season by participating in the Maharashtra Open, where he lost in the final to Gilles Simon. After a poor showing in the Australian Open, he played in ATP Acapulco where he lost in the final to Juan Martin Del Potro.
He followed that run with a couple of regular appearance in the penultimate rounds of many prominent events like Miami Masters, Madrid Masters, and Indian Wells. Despite not winning a singles title, he gathered enough ranking points to move up in the rankings.
He had his first major breakthrough in Wimbledon where he lost in the final to Novak Djokovic. He followed this runner-up feat with a semifinal run in the Rogers Cup and subsequently, a winning run in the ATP Vienna. By that point, he had become the World No. 6 – a feat that helped him secure the qualification for the tournament.
Thiem’s Perseverance to Stay at Top
Thiem is coming to London with a win-loss record of 53-18 and three singles titles. He has been one of the most hardworking players on the tour this year.
His three singles titles include the St. Petersburg Open, ATP Lyon, and Argentina Open. However, it is fair to say that he could have won more singles title but his form took a sharp dip on several instances.
He started the season by participating in ATP Doha where he reached the semifinal. However, he withdrew from the tournament owing to illness. Thereafter, he played in other events like the Australian Open, Indian Wells, et cetera, but failed to perform there.
He had a much better run on clay courts. He reached the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open where he lost respectively to Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He then participated in the Madrid Masters where he lost in the final to Alexander Zverev.
Following this runner-up feat in Madrid, he had a similar showing in the Roland Garros as well. Once again, he had to settle for the runner-up trophy having lost to none other than Nadal in the final.
His grass season wasn’t that impressive, to say the least. He resumed his hard court season on a rather uneventful note but he did manage to reach the quarterfinal in the US Open.
Final Thoughts
Thiem has got the energy and momentum with him to win the match here. He has been quite aggressive this season with a 2-0 lead over Anderson this year, he also has the psychological edge. However, the South African has got experience on his side and that alone may take him through to the victory here. We are certainly in for a great match here.
The Anderson v Thiem match in the ATP World Tour Finals will be played on November 11, and kick-start 2 pm local time (BST).
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