Dominic Thiem had a daunting opener in Monte Carlo against a combative Andrei Rublev.
Seeded no.5, the Austrian is considered as one of the favorites of the tournaments, but he is still a bit troubled with an ankle injury. Dominic didn’t play his best tennis against Rublev also because the world no.33 was putting a lot of pressure on him playing over-aggressive tennis.
After splitting the first 2 sets, things got extremely interesting in the decider when Thiem squandered a 4-1 lead after he lost 4 consecutive games (4-5). Eventually, Rublev had a match point on his serve when he was 5-4 up, but the Russian couldn’t convert the opportunity, and it was Thiem to win 3 consecutive games and the match after 2 hours and 40 minutes. The final score was 5-7 7-5 7-5.
Thiem will face either Djokovic or Coric in the 3rd round, and that will not be easy.
| TO THE 3RD ROUND |
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