by Andy Schooler
There is something old-school about a tennis match when two one-handed backhands go head to head these days – memories of a time when finesse and not power was the pre-requisite for a player.
Of course, in the modern game ways have been found to combine the two. Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem are prime examples of how a player’s game can include the shot as a weapon.
The pair went head to head at the ATP Finals on Monday but it was not the one-handed backhand which determined the contest, more a nervousness at key moments which also seemed to stem back to the amateur days of the sport.
Having dominated a first set in which his opponent managed to get just 33 per cent of his first serves into play, Dimitrov should have won in straight sets.
However, having missed a chance to break serve at 5-5 in the second set, he duly lost his serve to love having not previously faced a single break point.
Roared on by a fervent Bulgarian contingent in the O2 Arena crowd, Dimitrov responded well to the setback, an excellent stop volley seeing him secure the first break of the third set to lead 4-3.
The tournament debutant, who had displayed a much more rounded game with his frequent visits to the net, got to within two points of victory when serving for the match at 5-4 only for the nerves to kick in again and a missed backhand allowed Thiem a way back into the match.
His reprieve did not last long though.
Consecutive double faults in the following game saw the Austrian lose serve again – this time to love.
Jaw-dropping from @GrigorDimitrov - on break point as well! 😮 #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/pnqT9MvvOP
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 13, 2017
Dimitrov, who had missed five match points in defeat to Thiem at the Madrid Open earlier in the season, finally managed to stagger across the line but not until he had blown his first two match points.
In an error-strewn finale, it was somewhat fitting that a shot long from Thiem clinched victory for Dimitrov.
Off that one-handed backhand, of course.
Dimitrov said that he had not thought of his previous meeting with Thiem when things got tight - but a similar near-miss, against John Isner, at the Paris Masters earlier this month, had sprung to mind.
"It was kind of a similar situation. I was like, 'not again, definitely not again!'
"You know, whoever you play out here, you know it's going to come down to the wire. It's simple as that. I feel like I played an OK match. For sure I thought I could have done a few things different or better. But I think from now on, it can get only better."
Thiem admitted he had been nervous.
"There's always a little bit of tension before every match, especially here. because of the atmosphere in the arena," he said.
"It was the first match against a very, very good opponent - you are very tense."
Thiem, who unlike Dimitrov did have previous experience of playing at The O2 having qualified in 2016, drew some positives from the display but said he had played a "shocking" game at 5-5 in the third.
"It was, I think, a way better performance than the last weeks, last tournaments, but still not perfect obviously.
"The third set was little bit weird I think when I broke back for 5-5, then immediately got a shocking break for 5-6, then still had chances.
"I think it was pretty open until the end. I think there were some things just not good enough. I think he deserved to win."
Match stats: Thiem v Dimitrov
Aces: 8 v 5
Double faults: 6 v 5
1st serves in %: 47 v 54
Points won on 1st serve %: 80 v 77
Points won on 2nd serve %: 51 v 56
Break points won: 2/2 v 3/8
Winners: 22 v 24
Unforced errors: 39 v 44
