Dominic Thiem has been struggling in the 2023 season but he's back to his best at the Estoril Open.
In the first round of the competition, the experienced Austrian was a set and a break down to his compatriot Sebastian Ofner, but eventually turned the match around. In the second round, Thiem was set to meet even stronger opponent, the eighth-seeded Ben Shelton from the United States.
The young American played his first-ever clay-court match in Estoril as he defeated Constant Lestienne in the first round. Previously, the two second-round protagonists never met before but Thiem wanted to use his clay-court qualities to beat Shelton.
From start to finish, Thiem played much better tennis while his opponent struggled to find momentum. Shelton got off to a good start after he broke the Austrian and led 2-0 in the first set, but the rest of the opening set was a one-man story.
Thiem won 24 of 29 points played in the remaining six games and dominated in almost every rally. After only 27 minutes, the 2020 US Open champion won the first set 6-2.
The Austrian never stopped pressuring his opponent, as he didn't face any break points in the second set, but proved to be a threat on almost all of Shelton's service games.
After adding two more breaks, Thiem won the match 6-2, 6-2 to reach his first ATP quarterfinals since he played in the semifinal stages in Antwerp last October.
Up next, the former world no. 3 will play against the fourth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain or Quentin Halys from France.
0 Comments