tennis
Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem has survived the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro. The Lower Austrian, who had failed in round one last year, prevailed after just over two hours and knee problems against the Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves in three sets 6: 2 4: 6 6: 1.
19.02.2020 01.32
Online since today, 1.32 h
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Thanks to a wildcard, the 21-year-old local hero, number 341 in the world tennis rankings, was in a main competition in an ATP tournament for the first time. And for the Austrian tournament winner of 2017, the match also started entirely in paper form. After the 3: 2 lead, Thiem won the first set after 6 minutes with 6: 2 with a double break.
But in the second round, Thiem grabbed his left knee with a painful face on the first serve. When the score was 1: 0 for the Lower Austrian, the physiotherapist had to treat the course and the world ranking fourth for a few minutes.
Injury concerns in set two
When the score was 2: 1 for the Austrian, the physiotherapist Thiem put on a tape below the knee. Thiem was able to continue playing, but looked a bit battered and not quite on the ball. The local hero got his first break chance due to numerous mistakes by Thiem, which he also used for the 4: 3 lead a few hours before his 22nd birthday. With freshly won self-confidence, Meligeni thied away the chance for a rebreak and, after 57 minutes, got his first set win on the ATP tour with 6: 4.
In the third sentence, Thiem’s routine left his opponent, who also ran out of strength, no chance and only a game. The winner of 2017 left after 2:04 hours and the third match ball as the winner.
Now against Munar
The next opponent is the Spaniard Jaume Munar, who won 7: 5 6: 4 against the Italian Salvatore Caruso. Against Munar, Thiem is 2-0 up in the head-to-head, 2018 (sixteenth final) and 2019 (second round), he won in Barcelona on clay after a hard-fought start in two sets. The 22-year-old is just 99th among the top 100.
ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro
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