ATP Challenger Mauthausen: "A good sign" - Dominic Thiem happy after the opening win
Dominic Thiem (ATP No. 96) is currently working on the ATP Challenger Tour - on Tuesday he celebrated an opening success in Mauthausen. The next match is already today.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
May 09, 2023, 09:24 pm
Dominic Thiem is looking for match practice - no Masters tournament in Rome, but two Challenger appearances are the keyword for the Lichtenwörther these days. First stop: The home game in Mauthausen, where Thiem confidently solved his first task on Tuesday .
An early break in round one, without danger then to win the set; fended off an impending 0:2 deficit in round two and then pulled away himself, against a young Austrian, the qualifier Matthias Ujvary , number 1193 in the ATP ranking.
"Anything but easy," said Thiem after his victory on ORF when asked how difficult it was to compete against a young, relatively unknown compatriot - combined with the great pressure of having to win himself. "Of course I knew him by name. After winning two qualifying rounds, especially the last one against a strong opponent, I expected him to play well."
The match was not easy, "I didn't have much to win," said Thiem. "I'm happy with how it went in the end. I'm ready for tomorrow too."
Thiem today against Delbonis: "An absolute top player"
Tomorrow is already today, Thiem now meets the opposite of Ujvary with Federico Delbonis; to a man with great experience (from 2.30 p.m.). "He's been on the ATP tour for a long time, has beaten people like Federer. An absolute top player," Thiem warned against the 32-year-old Argentine, currently ranked 220th, but also number 33. "I have to improve there," said Thiem.
Who is especially happy that the forehand is working again. Because backhand beauty or not - in the end it is the forehand that determines and should determine the game. "It was the construction site for the last two years. Now I'm starting to build up the points with my forehand again, playing a lot more with my forehand. That's a good sign."
Thiem will still have to change something against Delbonis, because the Argentine is a leftie. Record so far: 3-0 for Thiem, the last encounter comes from the tournament in Gstaad last year.