Generali Open 2022: Dominic Thiem rekindles the old magic in Kitzbühel
Dominic Thiem , floodlight, Kitzbühel: That's a combination that didn't fail to have an effect on Tuesday evening. Today the 2019 champion continues against Sebastian Ofner (from around 5 p.m. live on TV and live stream on ServusTV and in our live ticker).
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Jul 26, 2022, 10:35 pm

Kitzbühel at night was a very special place yesterday, Tuesday. When does it happen in the first round of a 250cc tournament that a stadium like the one in Kitzbühel is filled to capacity? Responsible for that, of course: the champion of 2019, Dominic Thiem. Its appeal to Austrian fans is still unbroken. That could already be seen on Monday at Kids' Day, when Thiem had to make his way through an enthusiastic sea of autograph hunters. He did so with obvious pleasure.
The smooth 6: 4, 6: 2 win against Alexander Shevchenko should not be overstated, the young Russian put up a good fight. But was pretty far from endangering Thiem at any stage of the match. As well as? Shevchenko, now 21 years old, knows Thiem from their times together with Günter Bresnik. "The last time we played together four or five years ago, Sascha didn't score a point," Thiem recalled at the press conference after his success. And now you meet at the highest ATP level. Already remarkable. He has also not yet played a professional tennis match against anyone with whom he has already hit balls when he was still 1.30 meters tall.
Thiem strong on the defensive
Tuesday evening clearly showed what a man like Alexander Shevchenko lacked in addition to physical fitness: Dominic Thiem was often on the defensive, but was able to free himself from it time and time again. Shevchenko, on the other hand, only knows one pace (still), namely full throttle. Which at least conjured up an entertaining tennis match on the Center Court in Kitzbühel.
In front of prominent spectators: soccer world champion Bastian Schweinsteiger was just as enthusiastic about the match and the atmosphere as ski jumping ace Stefan Kraft. Nicole Billa, who had just reached the quarter-finals of the European Football Championship in England with the Austrian women's national team, was also in the audience.
So now it's up against Sebastian Ofner, as in 2019 (from around 5 p.m. live on ServusTV and in our live ticker), the two Austrians also met in the round of 16. Floodlights are almost impossible, today's Tuesday should bring very passable weather, therefore no major delays. But when Dominic Thiem enters the center court in Kitzbühel, the old magic comes back one way or another.
Here is the individual tableau in Kitzbühel
kitzmap