Dominic Thiem pulls out another great performance to defeat his great friend Ernests Gulbis in 5 sets rallying from 2 sets down.
The match wasn’t easy for both as they are very good friends, they often practise together and they even share the same coach.
Eventually it was Thiem to win 4-6 3-6 6-4 6-3 6-3. A key factor was Gulbis cramping in the third set that made his movements quite cumbersome. Eventually Thiem won the match even if he scored 1 point less then Gulbis (149 vs 150). Match Stats
Gulbis: We were both very nervous
“I thought that it’s not going to be so difficult. But mentally, it was difficult. We were both really nervous throughout the match, I think. We both couldn’t play our best tennis. I mean, the level we play in practice is much higher than we did today.”
Thiem: It was a very strange situation
Referring to his friendship with Ernests, Dominic commented “It’s a great moment and a great day but honestly I would’ve hoped that this moment had happened against anyone other than Ernests. It was a very strange situation,”
Next vs.Lopez
Dominic will play Feliciano Lopez in the third round. They have never played each other so far. See H2H rankings progression.