ast two weeks following his bitter round of 16 exit at the Challenger in Zadar, Dominic Thiem returned on Monday with a first-round victory at the 250cc ATP tournament in Estoril. The Lower Austrian, who is struggling with new wrist problems, prevailed on clay once morest the German Maximilian Marterer 6:1, 6:7 (3), 6:4. In the round of 16 he will face veteran Richard Gasquet, who is a lucky loser.
Thiem left no doubts in the first set with solid play once morest Marterer, who was quite flawed at the start and has not yet won a game at ATP level in 2024. The former number 3 in the world received a surprising break in the second round to make it 1:2. Thiem stuck with it, managed the rebreak to 4:4, but only scored three points in a completely unsuccessful tiebreak.
In the third set, Thiem broke the serve of his opponent, who was ranked 97th in the world rankings, right at the start, but immediately received the rebreak. The new break by the 2020 US Open winner, who was now acting more confidently once more, to make it 3-2 was decisive. With the score at 5:3 and Marterer serving, Thiem missed his first match point. Immediately followingwards he served confidently and won the third duel with Marterer.
“I came here early to prepare, it paid off. It was a great first set, Max played a lot better in the second, so it was an open match. I’m really happy that it ended well for me.” said Thiem.
During the winner’s interview he found out that he would not be playing once morest the number 4 seeded Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, but instead once morest Gasquet, who was the lucky loser. The Frenchman failed in qualifying, but following Davidovich Fokina withdrew due to a toothache, the 37-year-old is now directly in the round of 16. Thiem has played once morest Gasquet five times so far and won the most recent three duels.
The Lower Austrian recently suffered a bitter second-round defeat once morest Lukas Neumayer at the Challenger in Zadar. Only later did he report that pain had recurred in his wrist, which had been injured since 2021.
