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The sixth seed's single-handed backhand ranks as one of the
best shots in men's tennis but so far it has been feeble against
Djokovic who he has scraped one set against in five matches and
who thrashed him 6-1 6-0 in the Rome semi-finals.
He was also beaten in straight sets by Djokovic in last year's
semi-finals at Roland Garros -- his best run at a slam.
"I have to change something compared to the last matches,"
Thiem, the youngest of the quarter-finalists, said.
"I will talk to my coach, to my team. Then maybe change
something up and hope I play a good match."
Second seed Djokovic's progress has been troublesome in
comparison, being stretched to five sets by Diego Schwartzman in
round three -- but the battle-hardened Serb is well-versed in
the business end of slams and usually raises his game.
Former champion Mats Wilander thinks 23-year-old Thiem's easy
run could actually work against him.
"Of course, it's good to have conserved your energy, but for
Thiem I think I'd have liked to see him answer a few more
questions," the Swede, in Paris as a presenter for Eurosport's
daily flagship show "Game, Set and Mats", told Reuters.
"For someone like Thiem it's vital to have energy left. But at
the same time when you are standing up against Novak Djokovic
it's just a different animal in terms of pressure."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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