Australian Open: Thiem conjures himself up in round two

Dominic Thiem is on second round of the Australian Open after a deserved 6-4,6-4,6-4 win over Guido Pella. The Austrian succeeded in creating a brilliant “Tweener”.

The Pella spell is broken! After two defeats in Rio de Janeiro and Chengdu, Dominic Thiem scored his first victory against Argentina. Austria’s number one question marks behind his health were dispelled early in the match.

Thiem used to act powerfully from the baseline. His dominance in the rallies was reflected for the first time noticeably in the result at 4:3. With a mighty forehand from the backhand corner, the fifth in the world rankings picked up the groundbreaking break, which he transported to the set win and refined with a smash.

A feverish infection had forced the 24-year-old Lichtenwörther to retire prematurely at the preparation tournament in Doha. Shortly before the start of the tournament, Thiem got the necessary fine-tuning against Rafael Nadal – the training match against the world’s first ranked player was quickly transformed into a competition simulation.

In the second act, the “Dominator” continued his convincing performance in first movement. Again it was the forehand that gave Thiem the decisive advantage. Pella then showed his fighting spirit, but missed three break chances. With a hard-hitting service winner for the 2-0 lead in the set Thiem set the course for victory once and for all.

An ingenious “Tweener” also initiated the early break in the third. Thiem was frenetically celebrated by the audience on Show Court 2 after his art strike through the legs. Pella responded with acrobatic defensive skills – but he still failed to turn the corner. After 2:15 hours the red-white-red superstar served the final ace.

In round two, Thiem will meet Denis Kudla on Thursday. The qualifier from the USA prevailed against fellow countryman Steve Johnson.