Abgesehen von einer Eros Center Heilbronn, die Thiem Djokovic. - Hauptnavigation

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Dominic Thiem on the Adria Tour, US Open and tennis in the age of coronavirus. Novak Djokovic tests positive for coronavirus after Adria Tour event.

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Time Out: Andy Murray using lockdown to see his kids grow up. The reigning US Open champion produced his best tennis during the match's biggest points, saving break points and set points to qualify for Sunday's final.

Both players were evenly matched in the opening set until Thiem got the first break of the match late into the first set which eventually proved decisive.

The pair played out a mammoth second set tie break, with both struggling to hit the winning shot, before Djokovic eventually managed to edge it.

Read More. I thought after my first big title in New York, I'm going to be a little bit more calm but that was a mistake, I guess," Thiem said.

And it was so much on the edge, that match, like every single match here where the best players in the world are facing off.

So I'm just incredibly happy to be through and just try to get ready for tomorrow. READ: Sofia Shapatava says 'tennis may not survive' coronavirus pandemic as she starts petition calling for financial help.

Thiem celebrates winning the first set against Djokovic. In a cagey opening set, each player held on to their services games until very late, with their powerful serves and excellent ground games proving too much for each other.

The tension proved all too much for Thiem at one point as, after losing a game to give Djokovic the lead in the opening set, he tossed his racket off the court into the stands in apparent frustration.

The decisive break came in the 11th game of the tight set, as Thiem eventually edged a Djokovic service game to make the score And the Austrian sustained that momentum to gain match point, only to be denied by Djokovic as the tiebreak continued to ebb and flow.

The world No 3 earned a second match point as the set ticked past the hour mark, but again failed to convert, and moments later Djokovic was faced with a similar frustration as he wasted set point.

But after saving a third and fourth match point, the Serb finally sealed the breaker to send the semi-final to a deciding set. With both competitors having exerted so much energy at the conclusion of the second set, each struggled to mount much resistance in their opponent's service games in the third.

As such, the set followed serve until as five-time ATP Finals champion Djokovic was left seeking a hold to stay in the competition.

And Djokovic, beaten by Thiem in the round-robin stage at the O2 Arena last year, called on his vast experience as he claimed the first three points of the breaker, only to see the Austrian claw his way back and into a lead.

Djokovic, as he had done several times in the second set, saved match point, but the world No 1 was only delaying the inevitable, with Thiem ultimately closing out the tiebreak to win the contest, end Djokovic's pursuit of a record-equalling sixth Finals title, and reach the final of the season-ending competition for the second year in a row.

Having spent just shy of three hours on court against Djokovic, Thiem — beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas in last season's final — will on Sunday face the winner of the semi-final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev.

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Dominic Thiem beat Novak Djokovic after just under three hours on court.