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Dominic Thiem will celebrate his 27th birthday Thursday in the second round of the US Open. The second seed from Lower Austria led the 53.4 million euro Grand Slam tournament in New York on Tuesday against Jaume Munar (ESP) 7: 6 (6), 6: 3 after 1: 54 hours had to give up due to injury. Thiem will now face the Indian Sumit Nagal for the first time.
“It was not easy today, the route is very different. In the last few days I have been training on outdoor courts, which are quite fast, ”Thiem explained on the Louis Armstrong Stadium court. Also, it was not clear in advance whether you would play indoors or not. Rain had turned the first match into an indoor match, but in Thiem-Munar the roof was open again.
Thiem was not in top form yet, he made a few mistakes on the backhand and his opponent proved to be a long-term runner. “He brought so many balls,” said Thiem, who lamented the Spaniard for his injury. “I’m sorry for him, I don’t know if it happened during the game or before.”
Last year, Thiem had suffered a flu-like infection at Flushing Meadows in the first round and lost early on. By the way, with the gross salary of $ 100,000 for going to the second round, Thiem has blown his career prize money to more than $ 24 million.
“It was a good start to the tournament,” Thiem concluded, even if you still have to get used to the new “Laykold” rubber. “Here at Armstrong and Ashe (the bigger stadiums, keep in mind) it’s not as fast as it is on the outside courts. We have to get used to it. “
Playing without fans in the second largest stadium is, of course, unusual for all players. “The only advantage without fans is that you can move freely without problems and watch games in other places,” said Thiem. All seeded players also have an art suite at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I watch the games there.”
In the first set after a 3: 2 break, Thiem was already on his way to winning the set at 5: 3, when his opponent, who was only in 105th place, rebreaked at 4: 5. Suddenly, momentum turned in favor of the loser, who made it 6: 5 with a service game to zero. Thiem reached the tiebreaker but then lost a 5: 1 lead and then used the third set after 67 minutes to 8: 6 with his third ace. “I didn’t manage to book the first set early, then we had a good tiebreaker.”
In the contested second game of the second set, Thiem then used his fifth break point to lead 2-0. In this game, Munar had taken a medical break after slipping on his knee. Thiem immediately resigned from his service, but made the break, which was decisive in retrospect, at 5: 3. As out of nowhere, after Thiem’s 2-0, came Munar’s task.
From: apa
