ATP Rio de Janeiro: Dominic Thiem defeats Felipe Meligeni in three sets despite a startling moment
Dominic Thiem has successfully returned from his break after the Australian Open. The Austrian had to fight much more than expected in his first round game against Felipe Meligeni at the ATP 500 event in Rio de Janeiro, but was able to prevail with 6: 2, 4: 6 and 6: 1. (You can read about the game in our live ticker) .
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Feb 19, 2020, 07:45 am
Dominic Thiem is back on the ATP tour. The Austrian had taken a break after his final defeat at the Australian Open against Novak Djokovic and canceled his start at the ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires. Now the 26-year-old starts the clay court season a week later and comes to Rio de Janeiro as a very big favorite. After both Matteo Berrettini and Diego Schwartzman had canceled their line-up, Dusan Lajovic is now number 23 in the world rankings on the seed list. In the previous year, Thiem had surprisingly failed in round one on the eventual winner, Laslo Djere, in round one.
That's why the Austrian can collect a lot of points in Rio in 2020 - and also move up a place in the world rankings. Should Thiem play into the semi-finals, he would push Roger Federer out of third place and reach a new career high. The first hurdle on the way there was called Felipe Meligeni. The local hero got into the main field thanks to a wildcard and is ranked 341 in the ATP world rankings. For Dominic Thiem it was the first duel with the Brazilian.
While the Austrian still had slight problems with the conditions at the start of the game and made unusually many mistakes with the forehand, the young Brazilian started the match quite passably. Again and again Meligeni tried to use his forehand while avoiding that of his opponent from Austria. It worked quite well until the sixth game in the first round, but then it was the favorite who found the first three breakballs of this game and knew how to use number one straight away. This also left its mark on Felipe Meligeni, who suffered another break. Round one went to Dominic Thiem 6-2 after 37 minutes.
Injury worries at Dominic Thiem
At the start of the second set there was a startling moment for the Austrian's box. Dominic Thiem had just put it 1-0, but then touched his knee and let the physio come. After a short break in treatment Thiem was able to continue, but did not run particularly smoothly in the following. Two games later the physio was again with Dominic Thiem, this time to put on an association for the Austrian.
This should now have a positive effect on the musculoskeletal system of the Austrian, who had break chances in the subsequent service game Meligenis. But the Brazilian held up well in this phase and was able to ward off two opportunities for a new break in the Lichtenwörther. When the score was 3: 3, it was even the local hero who found a chance for a break and could use it in contrast to Dominic Thiem. However, this year's Australian Open finalist immediately had the chance to equalize it again. But the Brazilian had long been intoxicated and was able to fend off this breakball with a magic stroke. A few moments later, Meligeni was able to convert his first set ball and set it to 1-1. Round three had to make the decision.
Now Felipe Meligeni seemed to have woken a lion on the other side of the square. The Brazilian had to give up the first service game and was quickly 0: 3 behind. After the 21-year-old had also called the physio, Thiem started to add another break. And the Austrian should do that too, run three was almost decided after a few minutes. After a little more than two hours, the Lichtenwörther was able to serve and win the match with 6: 2, 4: 6 and 6: 1. Dominic Thiem's start to the clay court season was still a success: The Austrian was able to move into the top 16 with a lot of stomach ache.
Second round opponents have already been determined
In the round of 16 Dominic Thiem will now face Spaniard Jaume Munar. In the quarter-finals, the Austrian will meet an unoccupied player after the departure of Buenos Aires champion Casper Ruud. Dominic Thiem's entry into the semi-finals would be really appealing, as that would mean third place in the world rankings and a new career high. However, this requires a significant increase in performance by the Austrian - and the knee should not cause any further problems.