World No. 4 Dominic Thiem took on Hungarian tennis player Marton Fucsovics in the second round of the ATP Italian Open 2021. It was their second meeting, with the Austrian having won their first clash.
After a tough battle, the Austrian ace beat Fucsovics again and moved into the next round after winning the match 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0.
Set 1: Marton Fucsovics draws first blood over Dominic Thiem
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In the opening set, Dominic Thiem served poorly as compared to his Hungarian opponent. Marton won 68% of his first-serve points, whereas Dominic won 57% of his first-serve points, giving the 29-year-old player the advantage in the set.
Dominic broke his opponent just once in the set and it was his opponent who struck harder, breaking Thiem thrice. In the end, it was Fucsovics’s 16 winners that hit the Austrian hard as he claimed the opening set 6-3.
Set 2: Thiem scrapes through, hanging in the match
In the following set, the Hungarian player continued proceedings in a similar manner to the first set. He was serving slightly better than his Austrian opponent; however, both players broke each other.
It was 100 minutes into the match, and both players were locked in at 4-4. The match had reached the moment in which Dominic had to raise the bar in order to come out on top.
At the same time, Marton was not handing his opponent any freebies. He looked like a man on a mission and was making life difficult for Dominic. Eventually, the set had to be decided in a tiebreaker. Thiem’s experience came into play and he won the tiebreaker and thus the second set, 7-6 (5).
Set 3: A bagel in the final set
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Thiem began proceedings in the final set of his second-round match at the Italian Open and took a 1-0 lead. He broke his opponent thrice and sealed the set 6-0 in his favor to move into the next round.
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What. A. Match! 🔥@ThiemDomi comes from the brink of defeat to open his Rome campaign with a thrilling 3-6 7-6(5) 6-0 victory over Fucsovics.
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 12, 2021
The World No.4 advances to R3 in Rome.#IBI21 pic.twitter.com/jLB6Sxo1Sg
After winning his match today, the Austrian player will face the winner of the match between Gianluca Mager and Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round.