Dominic Thiem is proud of his three-set victory over Jaume Munar and the resulting move to the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
“I fought great from the first to the last point. I’m proud of that, and I’ll take that with me to the next round,” said the Lower Austrian after the 2:42 hour game against the Spaniard.
In the fight for the semi-finals, which would mean the advance into the top three of the world rankings for Thiem, he meets the Italian qualifier Gianluca Mager (LIVE in ticker) in the third Friday match after 7 p.m. CET.
After the backlog came an energy boost
“I felt a little tense at the beginning,” Thiem said again about the Munar game, “but when I was one set and one break down, the pressure dropped a bit, so I raised my level.” His break to 1: 2 in the second set was something like the turning point. “I felt how this kick went through my body. From that moment on, I put more energy into it, so I turned the game around.”
As in the run-up to the game, Thiem emphasized that Munar as ATP-99. classified worse than he deserves. “He didn’t give me any free points. But I’m still not at my top level, certainly not like at the Australian Open (defeat against Novak Djokovic in the final). But that’s normal. I’m playing for the first time since August on sand. ” Thiem’s departure from this underground for more than half a year at the time ended with his first Kitzbühel title.
Draw means well with Thiem
So he could definitely follow this week, which would correspond to him as the only top 20 player in paper form in Rio. The draw also means well with the fourth in the world rankings, who no longer had any problems with the knee aching in the first round. Thiem could only face a seed in the final. Attila Balasz (HUN) and Pedro Martinez (ESP), the possible semi-final opponents also came out of the qualification like lean. None of the three is in the top 100.
Mager has now made his first ever entry into an ATP quarter-finals in Rio, having already surpassed his previous ranking high of 114th place. If the 25-year-old from Sanremo also defeats Thiem, it could be close to the top 100. On the other hand, if Thiem wins according to the program, the Lichtenwörther would have made it into the top three on its own. Roger Federer, who had been injured until June, would then have outnumbered him by five points in the world rankings.
Text source: © LAOLA1.at/APA
Federer after meniscus surgery to Paris out – Thiem in top 3
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