Thiem Ties Personal-Best With Dominant Gijon Win

’Domi’ was dominant on Monday in Gijon.

Dominic Thiem defeated Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-0 to reach the second round of the Gijon Open. The two games he lost is tied for the fewest he has dropped in a completed tour-level match, with the other instance coming in 2013 in Vienna against Jaroslav Pospisil, whom he eliminated 6-1, 6-1 in the second round.

“It was a great match for the first time since ages I had the feeling that the ratio between unforced errors and making the right pace, playing really aggressive, was right. Especially with the forehand, it was really good for basically the first time [since my injury], so I’m very happy about it,” Thiem said. “The way is right, the direction is right, also the way of focus and how I maintain it from the first to the last point was good and I’ll try to keep going that way.”

The Austrian did not face a break point against Sousa, while he converted five of the seven break points he earned. The 29-year-old won 61 per cent of his return points to triumph after 62 minutes. 

Sousa won his fourth ATP Tour title earlier this year in Pune, but was unable to push Thiem, who now owns a 7-1 lead in their ATP Head2Head series. The former World No. 3 has earned six of his seven victories against Sousa in straight sets.

The No. 165 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, who is now 12-13 in tour-level matches in 2022, will next play American Marcos Giron or Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Thiem will try to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final since Kitzbühel in July. His best run of the season came that month in Gstaad, where he advanced to the semi-finals.

“I’ll try to go on court the same way like today as it was very, very good. It helps that I have a big goal in mind, to finish the year in Top 100, which would be amazing,” Thiem said. “I need good matches, I need victories, I still need quite a lot of points. So yeah, I hope I can continue that way on Wednesday and looking forward to it.”

In other action, Brazilian Thiago Monteiro ousted Frenchman 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 27 minutes to set a meeting with second seed Pablo Carreno Busta. Frenchman Constant Lestienne led Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-6(5), 4-4 when Baez retired due to injury.