ATP Doha: Aslan Karatsev calls on Dominic Thiem on Wednesday
As expected, Dominic Thiem's first opponent at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Doha is called Aslan Karatsev . The Russian won against Mubarak Shannan Zayid 6: 4 and 6: 0.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Mar 08, 2021, 06:59 pm
Actually, Dominic Thiem and Aslan Karatsev could and should have met for the first time in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open: De Russe was in the round of the last eight, but Thiem lost against Grigor Dimitrov in three sets. Now it will be so far on Wednesday in Doha. Under other conditions, "only" in the best-of-three format, and with less high stakes. In any case, Karatsev was no slouch with the 6: 4 and 6: 0 against Mubarak Shannan Zayid. And Thiem, as the tournament favorite, already had a bye in round one.
Local hero Zayid came into the main draw with a wildcard. Of necessity - after all, the Qatari does not have a ranking in the ATP world rankings. Karatsev, on the other hand, is in the current charts at position 45 after his entry into the semifinals in Melbourne.But he also needed a free ticket because he was far outside the range necessary for a direct starting place at the closing date for the ATP Tour 250 event.
Federer and Thiem on Wednesday
There was a little excitement on the first day of the main draw: Alexander Bublik won against Ramkumar Ramanathan 6: 4 and 6: 2, but wrote the Indian again with the red line in the studbook after the end of the game that he did not guess if his opponent makes an unsuccessful stop in the network with a loud "Come on!" celebrate.
Roger Federer's comeback will be like the match between Thiem and Karatsev on Wednesday. Federer is waiting for the winner of the game between Daniel Evans and Jeremy Chardy after a match break of more than a year.
Here the single tableau in Doha