The draw for the ATP-500 tournament in Vienna has turned out to be a tough first round for Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev has to play Victor Troicki.
Local hero Thiem was not allowed the luck at the draw for the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna. The 24-year-old gets in the first round of the match with the Russian Andrey Rublev. An unpleasant draw, as Rublev plays a strong second half of the season and will travel to the capital with a lot of self-confidence with victories over Tomas Berdych and Jack Sock in Beijing.
“A very, very good player, he has improved a lot lately,”said the Lower Austrian in praise of his opponent during the draw. For Thiem, the number two seedling in the list, the tournament in his home country is seen as a new beginning after a difficult trip to Asia.
The second round would be the next big challenge. With Feliciano Lopez or Richard Gasquet, Thiem would meet an experienced top player. In the semi-finals, the strong Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who will start against a qualifier, could be lurking.
Thiems buddy and number one of the tournament Alexander Zverev has also not caught an easy draw with Victor Troicki. Zverev, who will return to the tour after an unnecessary second round defeat at the Masters in Beijing against Juan Martín del Potro, will face a resurgent Serb. Troicki has shown itself in the past weeks with improved form and more self-confidence. The second round could be a bit more comfortable for “Sascha”. There he would either meet Ernest’s Gulbis, the wildcard owner, or the experienced Frenchman Gilles Simon. A possible semi-final duel could then be against the service giant John Isner, who will face Zverev’s compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round.
The third German in the league Jan-Lennard Struff was drawn to Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas as the first-round opponent. The Austrian wildcard holder Sebastian Ofner will meet the young Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the first round.
The single panel in Vienna