Dominic Thiem clearly beats Maximilian Marterer in the second round of Buenos Aires
Dominic Thiem can look forward to a successful comeback at the ATP 250 tournament in Buenos Aires. The Lower Austrian defeated the German Maximilian Marterer clearly in the first game since his second round task at the Australian Open with 6: 4 and 6: 4. The match is available in our Tennisnet live ticker.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Feb 15, 2019, 01:14 am
Love. That is what Dominic Thiem has in common with Buenos Aires. The Lower Austrian has traveled to the Argentine capital twice professionally, and he has left the metropolis as a triumphant just as often - also in the past year. It is fitting that the 25-year-old was allowed to celebrate his individual debut in 2019 just on Valentine's Day.
However, the start for Thiem at the clay court tournament was not particularly promising. Marterer - after his smooth first round victory against Facundo Bagnis full of self-confidence - started strong, served exceptionally well and was able to put pressure on the Lichtenwörther even when he served. The 23-year-old left two break options for 3-1 unused, which should seriously disrupt the world rankings 85. but not.
Thiem ignites Turbo towards the end of the first sentence
But Thiem was able to improve significantly in the course of the first set and broke under the watchful eyes of Nicolas Massu and Günter Bresnik thanks to good forehand topspin balls to 5: 4. The Chilean Davis Cup captain, who is considered one of the hottest candidates for the job of tour guide in Team Thiem, was able to celebrate the first set win in his new role a little later. 6: 4 Thiem, a playful first round after almost a month's break.
The Austrian took the momentum from the first set and immediately broke the left-hander to the 1-0 lead. Particularly noticeable: Thiem repeatedly changed the position on his return, sometimes the 25-year-old buried himself on the Guillermo Vilas court meters behind the baseline, and now and then he attacked the service of his opponent.
Thiem in the quarterfinals against Cuevas
And then came what you could almost expect after such a long break. Thiem let loose a bit and Marterer came back into the game. The Austrian suffered an immediate rebreak twice in the second section and the German was able to take a 4: 3 lead out of nowhere. In the following service game, Thiem even had to fend off a breakball in which the German struck a forehand by centimeters.
As in the first set, Thiem struck again at 4: 4. Once again, the top seed took off his opponent's serve and was allowed to serve to win the match. The World Ranking Night performed this task with flying colors, for 15 he played the encounter back home. Overall, with regard to his long break, Thiem offered an appealing performance that should further deepen the love relationship with Buenos Aires.
In the quarter-finals, Dominic Thiem will not meet Pablo Cuevas before 23:00 CET on Friday evening, who eliminated Joao Sousa with five in the second round with 6: 4 and 7: 5. It is 2-2 in the head to head of the two, the Lower Austrian had to give up last year in the last duel in Indian Wells.