When Dominic Thiem walked on centre court Monday at the Generali Open, the same tournament where he made his ATP Tour main draw debut 11 years ago, the Austrian received a deafening ovation from the crowd. The former World No. 3 rewarded his home fans with a 6-4, 6-2 win against lucky loser Alexander Shevchenko.
“I was very, very nervous because even though the past weeks were better and better, I’m still not like two or three years ago when everything was going by itself somehow,” Thiem said in his on-court interview. “My goal was to be able to give a good show, to give good tennis to this amazing crowd and I’m happy that I was able to do it.”
There were some hard-hitting rallies in the match, with both players taking big swings at the ball. At times, Thiem backed up well behind the baseline to attack, especially on returns, which paid dividends in the key moments.
The 2019 Kitzbühel champion won 50 per cent of his return points and broke his opponent’s serve four times to advance after one hour and 29 minutes.
“Definitely it was a very tough match [physically], long rallies. Sometimes amazing pace from both of us and I’m very happy with the way I started here in Kitzbühel,” Thiem said. “Obviously the way I walked in with the atmosphere, with all the memories with the full centre court, it was unreal and it gave me goosebumps. I’m super happy to be the winner tonight.”
<img src="https://eltaszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/very-nervous-thiem-overcomes-kitzbuhel-goosebumps.jpg" alt="Sebastian Ofner“>
Photo Credit: Generali Open/Alexander Scheuber
The 28-year-old, who is still searching for his best form as he battles back from a wrist injury, will next face countryman Sebastian Ofner. The qualifier clawed past former World No. 7 Gasquet 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 after two hours and 34 minutes earlier in the day to reach the second round.
Ofner owns an 11-13 tour-level record, but he is now 6-4 in Kitzbühel, where in 2017 he advanced to the semi-finals. The 26-year-old showed no fear of the moment competing in front of his home fans, taking full advantage of poor shot selection by Gasquet at the end of the match with a flurry of rushes to net to dispose of drop shots, also painting the line with shots at critical moments.
The No. 235 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings saved eight of the 12 break points he faced in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Gasquet.
It was a good day for Spaniards in Kitzbühel, where seventh seed Pedro Martinez and Pablo Andujar advanced. Martinez saved all six break points he faced in a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory against Chilean wild card Nicolas Jarry, while Andujar battled past ninth seed Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4).
Source Tennis – ATP World Tour
