2023-08-28 20:52:21
Thiem was struck last week because of “a kind of gastritis” and therefore had to forego his appearance at the ATP tournament in Winston-Salem. At the weekend, however, the 29-year-old declared himself ready for the duel with the unorthodox playing Bublik. He then didn’t come into his own with his antics as desired, Thiem in turn kept his nerve and downplayed the game dryly. In the third set he had to concede a rebreak to his opponent, but then served out following 1:52 hours.
“This victory is very special,” said Thiem on the pitch, also referring to his US Open triumph in 2020. “It means a lot to me that the first Grand Slam victory happened here. I mightn’t have chosen a better place for this. I’m super, super happy.” Thiem also emphasized the difference from three years ago, when he triumphed in front of empty ranks in the final and emphasized that the Kitzbühel final he reached at the beginning of the month gave him a lot of self-confidence. “I’m back on track. My game is back.”
Bublik is known, among other things, for numerous stops, and such a failed one gave Thiem his first break. Although Austria’s number two had to accept the rebreak immediately with a devious forehand, he stayed on the trigger and increased to 5: 3 following being on guard with one of Bublik’s well-known serves from below. The 26-year-old Kazakh then found another breakball, but following 38 minutes Thiem had the important set lead in his pocket.
A break to make it 2-1 set the course for winning the next set, and Bublik also gave up his first service game in the third set. As a result, the real favorite sometimes acted rather listless and therefore also dangerous. He then came a little closer, as in the second round of the French Open, but Thiem ultimately remained victorious. “He’s a strong player, he was seeded. And a win in three sets, I mightn’t be happier,” said Thiem. “I’m happy to have at least one more match. I hope that I can start a run once more.”
Ideally, Ofner also intends to do the same, following celebrating his first win in five and a half weeks in the first duel with Nunes. Most recently, the 27-year-old lost in Umag, Kitzbühel and Winston-Salem, but still stayed in the top 60. Due to the ranking (58 to 79), Austria’s number one was considered a slight favorite once morest the southern European, and his nerves of steel in the two tie-breaks were also decisive. In the fourth set, memories of the Kitzbühel win once morest Alex Molcan (SVK) came up.
Ofner Borges didn’t get any closer than from 2:5 to 4:5. In the first set, the ÖTV professional made up for a break once morest himself, so it went into a tie-break. With a 2:0 lead, Ofner initially marched ahead in the second round as well, but following a 3:1 lead he had a slack. The third set was decisive when Ofner had to go into the tie-break once more following a 4-1 lead. With the 2:1 set lead behind him, he then pulled away to 5:1 and then only thought briefly regarding the Molcan game when he lost following a 6:4.5:0 lead.
“It was a really difficult match – not a high-class one, but really tight,” Ofner summed up the game, which was played in humid conditions. He valued winning the third set very highly. “I then noticed in the fourth set in the first game that I was fully there.” He was satisfied with his serve. “That has saved me well here and there. Also that I played really well in important situations.”
After the success achieved in 2:55 hours, Ofner is naturally a clear outsider once morest Tiafoe on Wednesday. He has never played once morest the 25-year-old tenth in the world rankings, also for this year’s Wiener Erste Bank Open. Thiem is 1-0 ahead of 20-year-old Shelton head-to-head. He won the game this year in the Estoril Round of 16 on clay 6:2,6:2, now the first comparison on hard court is imminent. As world number 47. Shelton is 34 places ahead of Thiem in the ranking. With Bublik, the Lichtenwörther had defeated number 27.
Vorarlberg’s Julia Grabher had to cancel her US Open debut once morest Chinese Wang Xiyu because of a wrist injury. This means that Austria is no longer represented in the women’s competitions.
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