Dominic Thiem endured some pretty bad losses recently, but he escaped another one in the qualifying for the 2024 Madrid Open.
Thiem used to play really well at this ATP Masters 1000 event a few years ago, but nowadays, he has to play his way into the main draw through the qualifying. It's been a pretty tough time for the Austrian recently, with some bad performances and some bad losses, but the hope was that things would improve the more matches he played.
It happened in this match, and it may help the 2020 US Open champion with his confidence. He faced Felipe Meligeni Alves, who is a solid Brazilian player who is really competent on clay.
He was overmatched by Thiem early, but he didn't play badly. Both of them had some issues on serve, but the Austrian simply won all the crucial rallies. He saved all six break points he faced in the first set and used two of the seven the Brazilian allowed.
He didn't serve as well as his opponent, but it didn't matter because every crucial rally went his way, and he was able to win the opening set of this qualifying match 6-2.
That changed in the second set as the most crucial rallies went the way of the Brazilian player. It was a pretty solid set from both. There weren't many chances, but the one break point he had, Meligeni Alves, converted.
Thiem didn't create a single break chance in the second set. The final set would open with an early break for the Brazilian. It was the ideal start for him, especially since he looked very comfortable on his serve at that point in the match.
Thiem could barely create any kind of pressure, but he found a way to break, making it 3-3. Unfortunately, he was broken again in the next game but mustered up a comeback once more, breaking when Meligeni Alves served for the match.
He would use that momentum to completely turn around and win the match in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, which was a huge win for him considering how badly he played recently.
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