Image: APA/Gabriel Bouys
Dominic Thiem celebrated his second individual victory in the 2023 calendar year. At the start of the €630,705 clay court tennis tournament in Estoril, the man from Lichtenwörth won against compatriot Sebastian Ofner after a hard fight and losing the first set 3:6, 6:3, 6:4.
For the 29-year-old former US Open champion, it was the first success on the ATP tour since February 15. At that time, Thiem defeated Slovakian Alex Molcan 7: 6, 6: 3 in Buenos Aires. Thiem, who has slipped from third to 111th place in the world rankings, currently has a season record of 2: 8.
The round of 16 opponent has already been determined. Thiem now meets the American Ben Shelton, number eight, who is 39th in the ATP ranking. The two meet for the first time.
Ofner, number 122 in the world, got off to an excellent start and pulled away to 5-1 with two breaks. After the 3: 6 in the first round and a loss of serve to 0: 1, Thiem caught himself, reduced his mistakes (especially with the forehand) and put the opponent from Styria under pressure.
Thiem pulled away to 4: 1 and, after defending against two breakballs, served to make it 6: 3 when the score was 5: 3.
“It’s never easy against Sebastian”
The decision had to be made in a third sentence, which Thiem dictated from the start. Thiem made two breaks to make it 3-0, Ofner reared up, but could no longer force the turnaround.
After 2:06 hours, Thiem converted his first match point. That’s good for the soul. The 29-year-old stays ahead of Ofner on the ATP computer, who would have overtaken Thiem had he won.
“It’s never easy against Sebastian, you could see that in Kitzbühel last summer. We’ve become friends over the years, and we also work together a lot in the off-season,” said Thiem about his opponent, who is looked after by Papa Wolfgang Thiem .
“I’m happy to have won and to get another match here in front of this great crowd,” added the victorious Lower Austrian. “The scenery is really nice. Not many tournaments are so well attended on a Tuesday afternoon.”
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