Dominic Thiem will play his quarter-finals in Buenos Aires against Guido Pella as the last game of the day. Against the Argentineans it is 1:2 after victories.
The 28 tableaux in the ATP World Tour 250 Tournaments are tough – first and foremost for the fans of the four top seeded players. Favourites usually start on Wednesday, a few years ago Jo-Wilfried Tsonga only entered Munich on Thursday – and against Tommy Haas again.
Dominic Thiem has been busy himself in Buenos Aires, although he has also been able to enjoy a qua seed list in the last sixteen. After Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic’s rejection, Thiem is now the tournament’s favourite in the Argentinean capital. The 24-year-old Lichtenwörther has faultlessly completed his opening task against Horacio Zeballos. The efficiency at break points left a little bit to be desired, but the good news: Dominic Thiem comes to these chances. By the way, the Lower Austrian has played his way into the double semi-finals alongside long-time buddy Diego Schwartzman.
That’s where at least the way in the singles should go, for Thiem there’s another night shift ahead of him. And an opponent with whom he still has a score to settle: Guido Pella. At the Australian Open Thiem defeated the Argentinean for the first time, Pella won the two matches before. In Melbourne, Thiem had taken an extremely offensive approach and had surfaced regularly on the net. This is not necessarily to be expected on Argentinean sand. But on his favourite surface, Thiem can take away any opponent, even from the baseline.
The course of the season so far for Austria’s number one was at least satisfactory, with small restrictions: In Doha, Thiem had to pass before the semi-final against Gael Monfils (a constellation that is also possible in Buenos Aires) due to illness. And at the Australian Open, the amazing Tennys Sandgren made the best match of his life against Thiem – and then he showed his limits against Hyeon Chung.
Dominic Thiem knows no bounds on ashes, two years ago he won the title in Buenos Aires, defeating Rafael Nadal on his way there. The last win of the tournament was almost a year ago, but next week the title will be defended in Rio de Janeiro. Thiel’s run ended there in 2016 – against Guido Pella.
Here the single panel in Buenos Aires
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