It did not come easily for Dominic Thiem in Indian Wells on Satuday, as the 5th seed was forced to work hard for a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Things did not look as if they would be difficult to start. Thiem won four games in a row to start the match, as Tsitsipas struggled to match the more experienced man for pace, consistency, and depth. A number of backhand errors from the the Next Gen saw Thiem rapidly earn two breaks.
Tsitsipas did at least manage a few holds towards the end of the set, giving some hope that the second would be more of a contest.
So it was, as Tsitsipas controlled his agression. After proving unsuccessful in attacking the Thiem backhand in the first, he went after the forehand. It proved crucial as he secured an early break in the second. Thiem missed a standard forehand and then uncharacteristically blasted long on his backhand to give Tsitsipas the break.
Thiem had a golden chance to get back into the set in the seventh game. Having dominated the rally on break point he then missed his finishing volley with Tsitsipas out of position. The piece of fortune helped the Greek, as he eventually won the set.
Thiem was serving first in the decider, and promptly got on the board first. Tsitsipas got into trouble in the fourth game, and though it took time, Thiem secured the break at the fifth time of asking.
Tsitsipas broke back in the seventh game to seemingly set up a grandstand finish. Thiem regrouped quickly and brought up break point by passing Tsitsipas at the next. The Greek youngster then missed into the net with his first rallying ball of the next point to hand the break to Thiem.
Thiem made no mistakes serving out, holding to love. He’ll face either Pablo Cuevas or Denis Shapovalov in the third round.
Thiem was joined in the third round by veteran 12th seed Tomas Berdych. The Czech defeated Germany’s Maximilian Marterer 6-1, 6-4. Having cruised through the first set, Berdych found himself down 0-3 in the second. However, the former Wimbledon finalist won six of the final seven games to set up a meeting with Hyeon Chung or Dusan Lajovic.
