[ad_1]
Thiem plays Cilic in his fifth round of 16 at Flushing Meadows. After Jaume Munar surrendered at the start and the win over outsider Nagal, the Croatian becomes the first real touchstone for the Austrian. Against the 31st seed Cilic, who won 6: 3 1: 6 7: 6 (7/2) 7: 5 in his second-round match against Slovak Norbert Gombos, Thiem leads 2: 0.
“I try to keep the points a little shorter. Generally things are going in the right direction. It’s hard to say where I am currently, even if I’ve played a lot of exhibition games, but this is the real competition, “Thiem said on the court.” I still try a bit to find my game and get back there. get where I left off before the crisis. “
Nagal renounces respect
Thiem was the clear favorite in the duel with world number 124. and he lived up to this role from the start. Nagal made the first point of the game, but then fell 0-3 quickly with a break. The Indian quickly abandoned his respect and his initial nervousness.
At 3-1 the Austrian got into trouble. He was able to fend off four breakballs with good serves, but on Nagal’s fifth down, a forehand from Thiem went flying. After the tie at 3: 3, the tournament’s number two turned the speed screw again, made the break at 5: 3 after a rally and scored his first set point with an ace in the 44th minute.
Thiem increases
With the lead behind him, Thiem made a perfect start to the second set with an early break. The Austrian was not necessarily satisfied with his performance and a better footwork was demanded. There wasn’t much to complain about with his punches – speed and accuracy were just right over long distances.
The world number three brought Nagal back to 5-2. With the courage of despair, the Indian, who lives and trains in Germany, once again risked everything and achieved a regrowth. Thiem was not stopped by this and secured the 2-0 lead with another break.
Third ball used
Going to the third round was just a matter of form for Thiem. Lower Austria stayed focused to be on the safe side. With another early pause, the favorite finally set course for victory. Nagal fought stubbornly, but didn’t have much to oppose Thiem’s ever-improving play.
The Austrian acted confidently, especially in his service games. Thiem then closed the bag with his seventh break of the game. After a volleyball error from Nagal, he used his third match point and is in the third round of the US Open for the sixth time in his career.
A former winner of this tournament is waiting there with Cilic. In any case, Thiem expects a difficult match. “He is a true champion. You know what it takes to win tournaments even as big as this one. It will be our first match at the Grand Slam level, I am looking forward to it ”, said the Austrian.
