ATP: Dominic Thiem strives to reach the quarter-finals in Barcelona

Last year’s finalist Dominic Thiem has reached the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Barcelona. Austria’s top player beat Slovakian Lucky Loser Jozef Kovalik in two sets.

Mandatory task mastered! After a not always sovereign 7:6 (5), 6:2 victory against Jozef Kovalik, number 146 in the world, Dominic Thiem has entered the last eight rounds of the sand court tournament in the Catalan metropolis.

“Man in Black” Thiem, who again came out all black, opened the day of the last sixteen on Pista Rafael Nadal. Because the spread with the forehand was a bit too big after a balanced initial phase, the number three of the seed list fell behind in the meantime – but was able to eradicate the mishap immediately with the Rebreak.

The 25-year-old Slovakian had already proved that Kovalik could not be defeated in passing during his surprising success against Guido Pella. Thiem already had to offer his entire repertoire to keep the solid outsider in check. The Lichtenwörther, however, lacked the necessary consistency when he unsuccessfully made his way to winning the set at 5:3.

Since Thiem also had a lot of trouble and hardship on his return, the tiebreak had to decide. Familiar terrain: The first comparison with Kovalik, in Indian Wells in 2016, was also a quick decision twice. Analogous to his success in the Californian desert, Thiem pulled the reins when it mattered. A forehand error by his appealingly playing opponent finally secured him a 1-0 lead after exactly one hour.

The number seven in the world, once again looked after by Galo Blanco in Barcelona, had also had a long hard time in the opening match. The 24-year-old even had to fend off a set point against the Spanish wildcard holder Jaume Munar before ensuring clear conditions in the second round.

Thiem continued his success against Munar in his second match. At the latest after the double break in set two, Kovalik seemed to be broken. After two further service losses on both sides, the Lower Austrian could put the lid on with his own service after 1:43 hours.

In the quarter-finals, Thiem will face the winner of the match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Friday. While the result against the 19-year-old Greeks is white (2:0), it is 1:1 against the Spaniard in a direct comparison.

Here the single tableau in Barcelona