The seventh-ranked Thiem will enter tomorrow’s match fresh off two dominating straight set wins over Bernard Tomic and Simone Bolelli. He was also able to showcase that well-respected hitting power, as he convincingly outscored his foes in aces (19-3) and winners (74-34).
Thiem, as you may know, is currently just inches below the hierarchy when compared to the ultimate elites of tennis – Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal – which is quite reasonable since four of his last six losses on clay came from those guys.
Having said that, though, his record on clay (76-29 all-time and 19-4 this year) and accolades on such a court (six titles) can still arguably put him just beside those big names.
As for matching up with Steve Johnson, we’ll see if he can avoid a slow start. He had one in their meeting in 2014, but adjusted well enough in the following sets to tally a hard-fought 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 win.
Johnson provided a lot for the fans with his cardiac matches in rounds one and two, but condition-wise, it’s not good that he’s having an exhausting path in the Roland Garros. After a five-set battle with Yuichi Sugita, it then took him four sets to edge out Borna Goric.
Nevertheless, his thrilling victories could also be one of the best feel-good moments in the sport this year, as seen in his post-match interview this past Wednesday, where he was overcame with emotion as he remembered his late father who passed away just weeks ago.
That inspiration, along with winning in eight of his nine clay court matches this year, could be good for his momentum and rhythm heading into his encounter with the favored Thiem. Johnson has shown that he has the ability to pull off an upset – he took a set from Thiem and also had more aces than him in their aforementioned meeting – the focus just needs to be kept intact.
