Novak Djokovic Demolishes Dominic Thiem: A 59-Minute Masterclass

• Tennis News
• Novak Djokovic

A day after beating Rafael Nadal in the Rome Masters quarter-final, Dominic Thiem faced another legend in the last four. This time, he experienced a massive 6-1, 6-0 loss to Novak Djokovic in 59 minutes! The Serb delivered his A-game to destroy the rival on serve and return and sail into the title clash against Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic and Thiem met for the fifth time, and the more experienced player delivered his fifth triumph. A four-time Foro Italico champion claimed 55 out of 80 points and left the rival far behind. The Serb dropped 12 points in seven service games and defended both break points to keep the pressure on the other side.

Dominic took only 13 points behind the initial shot and barely avoided a double bagel! He offered Novak seven break points and got broken five times to experience one of his worst losses on the Tour. No one could predict this outcome before the match, with the Australian playing against Rafael Nadal in the finals in Barcelona and Madrid and beating him a day earlier in Rome.

Novak Djokovic lost one game against Dominic Thiem at the 2017 Rome Masters.

However, Novak was on another level, doing everything right and earning a chance to fight for his 31st Masters 1000 title. Djokovic landed 13 service winners and 12 direct points from the court.

He had 25 winners and only 11 errors, challenging his opponent to repeat those numbers to stay in touch. Thiem landed 14 winners and 30 mistakes, failing to match the rival's pace and finishing his run in the last four. Novak was 24-12 in front in the exchanges with five strokes or more and ousted Dominic 31-13 in the quickest rallies up to four strokes.

Djokovic grabbed an early break in the encounter's second game after Thiem's four forehand errors. The Austrian sprayed three more errors in the fourth game to fall 4-0 behind, with another noisy celebration from a motivated rival on the other side of the net.

Dominic went for risky shots and already sprayed ten unforced errors. Novak clinched the fifth game with four service winners and forced the rival to serve to stay in the set. Thiem finally held in game six with two service winners to avoid a bagel.

Djokovic served for the set at 5-1 and held at love to seal it in 26 minutes and gain a massive boost. Novak broke at the start of the second set, drawing the rival's mistakes and moving closer to the finish line. The Serb held after deuce in game two and clinched another break in the next one from 40-0 down to forge a 6-1, 3-0 advantage in no time.

Thiem made one last push and created two break chances in the fourth game. Djokovic denied them with service winners and closed the game with a direct point from his forehand to move 4-0 in front. Novak landed three forehand winners in game five and delivered his fifth break, extending the advantage and serving for the victory.

Djokovic sealed the deal with a service winner in game six, producing a bagel and marching over the top in style.