The Russian won 6:3,6:3 in 98 minutes in a Wiener Stadthalle that was packed with tennis fans. Thiem has to wait for the return to the top 100, with a win he would have reached the goal. His hunt for it continues this weekend in qualifying in Paris. Medvedev’s opponent in the quarter-finals has not yet been determined.
The sixth duel between the two was at a high level in the first seven games, the audience was offered great sport. Thiem held up to his successor as US Open winner with a very good length in his strong repertoire of shots, but a double fault sealed the loss of service to 3: 4. The 29-year-old missed a break chance to make it 4: 4, from then on he lost precision, the set and finally the match. In the second set, the young father’s break was crucial to make it 3-1. Thiem’s efforts to rebreak were ultimately unsuccessful.
Even before the hit of the day, two seeds were eliminated from this ATP 500 event. The Russian Andrei Rublev (3) lost to the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 3:6,4:6, as did the British Cameron Norrie (7) to the American Marcos Giron. The two winners now meet on Friday. Number five seeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz advanced 7:5,4:6,6:3 against Finn Emil Ruusuvori and could have to play against Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (2) for a semi-final ticket.
Source: Nachrichten