Dominic Thiem made short work of it

It’s going uphill with Dominic Thiem. Austria’s tennis star, who has slipped to position 106 in the world rankings, is doing well in the ATP 250 clay court tournament in Estoril.

The 29-year-old from Lichtenwörther, who defeated Sebastian Ofner in the first round, finished the very error-prone American Ben Shelton (ATP No. 39), who clearly feels more comfortable on faster surfaces, in the round of 16 6: 2, 6: 2 off Thiem will face the winner of the duel Roberto Bautista Agut (Esp) against Quentin Halys (Fra) tomorrow.

Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion, who had a very bumpy start to the 2023 calendar year, celebrated two individual victories en suite on the ATP tour for the first time since October 2022 (then in the Antwerp hall). And that was absolutely deserved. Shelton found no recipe against the powerful game of the 17-time ATP tournament winner.

Thiem put up with a false start (0: 2) and responded by winning six games in a row. That gives you confidence. In the second set, Thiem managed the break to 2: 1 and another to 4: 1, as a result he couldn’t take the butter off his bread. That was consistent from A to Z. The four-time Grand Slam finalist is about to return to the top 100.

A first step out of the crisis has been taken. “Shelton is one of the climbers, I had a lot of respect for him and his service. I used my clay court experience,” said Thiem. “Today the conditions were great for me, I can use my spin well here.” For Thiem it is the first quarter-finals in 2023. “The results weren’t there last time, but I love the clay court season. All the points I make help me.”

The working day was less successful for Jurij Rodionov, who had no chance against the Serb Miomir Kecmanovic in the round of 16. The Lower Austrian went down 0: 6, 1: 6 after just 63 minutes.