Dominic Thiem has always relished red clay.
Now, the two-time Roland Garros runner-up is hard core for hard court.
More: Thiem Edges Zverev To Reach AO Final
Thiem backed up his upset of world No. 1 Rafael Nadal edging Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open semifinals 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) to charge into his first career major final on a surface other than clay.
Zverev said Thiem has transformed his game to hard courts by adopting more aggressive court positioning and flattening out his heavy drives.
"He flattens his shot out much more," Zverev said. "Before he was a complete clay court player. A lot of movement, a lot of running around, stuff like that. Now he has a complete hard court game, which he can play on clay.
"Of course, he still plays the old way. On hard court, he's a much different and much better player."
Four of Thiem's last six titles have come on hard court, including his upset of Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final last March. Thiem ended 2019 defeating Federer and Novak Djokovic en route to the ATP Finals title match in London.
When Thiem faces seven-time AO champion Djokovic in Sunday's final, he will carry the confidence from recent success against the Serbian.
The fifth-ranked Austrian has beaten Djokovic in four of their last five meetings. Djokovic holds a 6-4 edge overall, including winning three of their four hard-court clashes.
Nineteen-time Grand Slam champion Nadal says Thiem's confidence taking the big strike combined with his fierce determination are keys to his evolution as a hard-court contender.
"He played with the right determination, no?" Nadal said after his quarterfinal loss. "He was putting one more ball in all the time in a difficult position for me.
"Yeah, I think he's playing great. He's playing with a lot of energy, aggressive, determination. So well done for him."
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