ATP Metz: Dominic Thiem beats Richard Gasquet with a strong performance
Dominic Thiem is in the second round of Metz's ATP 250 event. The Lower Austrian showed a strong performance against Richard Gasquet ( you can read the match in re-live here! ), won 6:3 and 7:6 (3) and now meets Hubert Hurkacz.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Sep 21, 2022, 07:57 pm
Playing against the French crowd is certainly not the most pleasant task in men's tennis. Doing that three times in a row is a good and happy accolade when it comes to thick skin. Or at least as a certificate of tolerance for frenetic cheering towards the local hero. This was what Dominic Thiem was about in the first round duel with Richard Gasquet as well as entering the second round of the ATP 250 event.
The opponent on Wednesday in Metz: Richard Gasquet. Dominic Thiem made a leisurely start against the veteran - and was quickly 1: 3 behind. However, the Lower Austrian didn't let that bother him. But on the contrary. From then on, Thiem won five games in a row and won round one with 6: 3.
Thiem also back in set two with a break
In a match in which there were a large number of backhand winners worth seeing due to the one-handed alignment of both players, Thiem stayed on the trigger in round two. Gasquet was able to thwart an early break chance - how could it be otherwise - with a backhand win along the line. A little later, the Frenchman did better on Thiem's serve, benefited from the Austrian's careless net play and got the first break in round two to make it 3: 2.
The break lead didn't last long - as in the first sentence - but not: After an error-prone service game, Gasquet had to give up his service to make it 4: 4, Thiem held in the following service game after a short wobble. Now the Austrian had regained the upper hand, increased the number of strokes in the following game - and got the first match ball after a strong rally. Gasquet thwarted Thiems after a simple forehand error and stayed in the match.
Thiem against Hurkacz
After that, the servers didn't let anything burn: A tie-break had to bring the decision in set two. In this Thiem managed the first needle prick, the Lichtenwörther got the first mini break to 2: 0 after an exciting backhand rally. And a little later put another one behind to make it 3-0. This broke the Frenchman's resistance, Thiem presented himself extremely solid - and fixed the 6: 3 and 7: 6 (3) success with a backhand worth seeing.
In the round of 16, Dominic Thiem now meets number two in the tournament, Hubert Hurkacz. The Pole enjoyed a bye in round one, but hasn't had a match in his legs since the surprising second round at the US Open. No disadvantage for Dominic Thiem, who is full of juice after reaching the final at the ATP Challenger event in Rennes.