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Dominic Thiem celebrated his 27th birthday at the world’s largest tennis stadium without a spectator, but with a smooth victory. Thiem is behind the smooth 6: 3.6: 3.6: 2 in 1:58 hours over the Indian Sumit Nagal for the sixth time in the third round of the US Open in New York. The three-time main finalist will now face former US Open champion Marin Cilic (CRO-31) on Saturday.
In the fight for his fifth round of 16 at Flushing Meadows, Thiem is hoping for his third win in game three against Cilic. The third in the world rankings will play for the first time at the Grand Slam level against the 31-year-old 1.98m man. It will be the first real touchstone for Thiem at his seventh US Open.
“I try to keep the points a bit shorter. Generally things are going in the right direction. It is difficult to say where I am currently, even if I have played a lot of exhibition games, but this is the real competition,” Thiem said. “I’m still trying to find my game a bit and get back to where I left off before the crisis.”
Thiem started properly and after a break in the second game at twelve minutes he was already leading 3-0. But after a ten-minute service game from Thiem, which still had too many flaws, the outsider used the re-break fifth ball to make it 2: 3. After 30 minutes, the lead was lost again. But after another break at 5: 3, Thiem served with an ace to 6: 3 after 43 minutes to lead 1-0.
Excitement about the container exchange: “What the heck is this?”
Thiem was more excited about having to pour a can of Red Bull into a mug, because advertising other beverage manufacturers is not allowed in the square. He even called the supervisor and complained. “Watch out for anti-doping, then you take the can from me without telling me what I’m going to drink? What the hell is it?” When Thiem poured his drink into the paper cup the next time he switched sides, a helper was available to cover the can with a towel in front of the camera.
With breaks at 1: 0 and 5: 2 as well as better service performance, Thiem, who had to surrender again to serve 5: 3, then at 77 minutes the 2: 0 in sets. An early 2-0 break had the last few skeptics to believe in Thiem’s victory. He used his third match point on Nagal’s serve to advance to the third round.
“If I play well and win clearly in the early rounds, it’s good for my self-confidence and my fitness,” said Thiem, who is now in the bottom 32 without dropping a set. “I try to win my matches as quickly as possible, but it always depends on the opponent and how I play.”
Thiem expects a difficult match against Cilic: “He is a true champion. He knows what it takes to win even these big tournaments. It will be our first match at Grand Slam level, I am looking forward to it.”
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