Thiem Beats Gasquet To Set Rune Showdown In Monte-Carlo

Dominic Thiem earned his first win at an ATP Masters 1000 event since 2021 on Monday when he overcame Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-4 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The Austrian had lost his past five matches at this level, having defeated Marton Fucsovics in Rome in May 2021 prior to his wrist injury. However, the former World No. 3 produced a clean-hitting performance against Gasquet to triumph at an ATP Masters 1000 event again after one hour and 29 minutes.

“At the start I played very well,” Thiem said. “It was good for me that I broke him. I was going ahead the whole match. I am pleased with the performance. Richard is in good form, he already won a tournament this year. It is always tough but at the same time nice to play him because he has such a nice game and is a legend of tennis.”

Thiem moved well throughout the clash and opened his shoulders to strike 18 winners. The wild card now leads Gasquet 3-2 in their ATP Head2Head series, having won their past three meetings.

The 29-year-old enjoyed a run to his first tour-level quarter-final of the season in Estoril last week and will look to back that up in the Principality, where he is making his seventh appearance.

“It is important to get matches and you only get them if you win, so last week was a very good step with the quarter-finals,” Thiem said. “Here [it] is very nice to win a match, and it is my first win at an [ATP Masters] 1000 tournament for a long time.”

Thiem, who has clinched 10 of his 17 tour-level titles on clay and has made two Masters 1000 finals on the surface, will next face sixth seed Holger Rune.

In other action, Diego Schwartzman moved past David Goffin 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round. The Argentine, who advanced to the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo last season, will next face seventh seed Jannik Sinner.