PARIS – Marco Cecchinato’s surprising run at this year’s French Open came to an end with a semifinal loss to Dominic Thiem in straight-sets. The semifinal was virtually decided in the second set tie-breaker, during which the Italian failed to convert three set-points that could have completely changed the momentum of the match.
Thiem is the first Austrian to reach the French Open final 23 years after Thomas Muster. He will face none other than Rafa Nadal in Sunday’s championships match. The Spanish superstar is going for the “Undécima” – his eleventh French Open title.
Cecchinato’s improbable run in Paris reminded me of 1997, when Guga Kuerten – who had an incredible one-handed backhand like the Italian – won the title almost out of nowhere.
Unfortunately, the script turned out to be different for the Palermo native. No. 8-ranked Thiem was almost unplayable in his service games, but things got very complicated in the second set tie-breaker, when the Austrian squandered three consecutive set-points at 6-3. Cecchinato managed to hold three set-points of his own at 7-6, 9-8 and 9-8, but Thiem erased them with two great serves and a drop-shot. Once Thiem went up two sets, there was no turning back. The final score was 75 76(12-10) 61 in the Austrian’s favor.
Despite the loss to a player that proved to be much better on the day, I have the feeling that Italy has finally found a valuable player. Cecchinato has a great personality and ambition. He can continue working on his serve and improve other parts of his game with his very reliable team. Cecchinato is currently working with coach Vagnozzi and trainer Ferrara.
“Thiem is better than me, he is one of the top three players in the world on clay. He pushed me a lot and I was always under pressure. I am proud of how I was able to stay with him for two sets. I had my chances in the tie-breaker. Had I won it…” Cecchinato said in his post-match press conference.
“I learnt that I can play and win against anybody. I am a top 30 player now, which was my childhood dream. I will keep working hard, I want to break into the top 20. The best memory of this fortnight in Paris was to hear the center court crowd yelling ‘Forza Marco’ each time that I won a point. It made my heart pound very fast. I am now headed to the grass, I will play Eastbourne and Wimbledon. I know that I will not have much time to prepare. It’s amazing to think that this time last year I was playing a challenger event in Caltanissetta,” the Italian said.
(Article translation provided by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
