ATP: St. Petersburg: Thiem has strong nerves against Struff

Dominic Thiem has reached the quarter-finals of the 250cc tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia. He defeated Jan-Lennard Struff 7:6 (4), 6:4 after a good hour and a half of playing time.

In a fast-paced game, Struff, currently the world’s number 50, got off to a better start: The German broke Thiem right at the start and quickly led 2-0, but Thiem managed to equal the score 2-2. The Lichtenwörther could not use three breakballs for the 4:2, after that there was nothing left to get for any return player. It went into the tiebreak – Thiem got the decisive points in the short decision with a 150 km/h forehand, a backhand pass ball and the set finally with a backhand return in the finest Becker blocker manner.

In the second round, Thiem scored a 2-1 break in a competitive game, defending Struffs chances of ranking like an eighth in the world – first three break balls at 3-2, then a 0:30 at both 4-3 and 5-4 and finally turning his second match point with a service winner. “It was my first indoor match of the year, so I’m very happy,” Thiem said afterwards.

Thiem will face local hero Daniil Medvedev, who won in two sets against Mikhail Kukushkin, in the quarter-finals of the $1,241,850 event. “He’s in good form, it will be the first official match between us. We’ve only played against each other in the under 14s so far,” Thiem continued.

The match against Medvedev will start on Friday at 5.30 p.m. CEST at the earliest.

The Individual Draw in St. Petersburg