Thiem Keeps Home Fans Happy In Vienna

Buoyed by his career-high ranking of No. 6 and playing on home soil, Austrian Dominic Thiem made a confident start to his campaign at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna on Tuesday. The second seed at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament won his first meeting with 20-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 20 minutes.

The 24-year-old put just 44 per cent of first serves into play but was highly effective when he found his range, dropping just four points on his first delivery.

Chasing his second title of the year (Rio de Janeiro), Thiem broke Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Rublev four times to advance to a second-round meeting with veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet in a match-up that will delight one-handed backhand enthusiasts.

Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez dealt a blow to Kevin Anderson on Tuesday in the South African’s quest to qualify for next month’s Nitto ATP Finals. Garcia-Lopez held his nerve in the second set before triumphing 6-4, 6-4 for a place in the second round. The 34-year-old, who will next meet France’s Lucas Pouille (d. Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4), led by a set and 3-0 before seventh seed Anderson regrouped, but the South African was unable to convert two break point chances at 3-4, in the one-hour and 34-minute encounter.

Anderson remains on 2,470 points at No. 12 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, 135 points behind ninth-placed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, who sits in the final automatic qualification spot for the season finale, to be held at The O2 in the English capital from 12-19 November. Just two singles berths are left up for grabs in the final two weeks of the regular ATP World Tour season, which includes this week’s Swiss Indoors Basel and the Rolex Paris Masters, starting Monday.

Despite firing 26 aces, American Sam Querrey also missed a chance to press his London claims when he squandered four match points in a 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(3) loss to Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Querrey and Anderson will now pin their hopes on a big performance at next week’s Rolex Paris Masters in their final chance to qualify for the season finale.

Earlier in the day, Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund earned a confidence-boosting victory over David Ferrer, the 2015 champion from Spain, 6-3, 7-6(5) in one hour and 47 minutes. He’ll now face Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak, who overcame Thomas Fabbiano, a lucky loser from Italy, 7-6(4), 7-5 in one hour and 56 minutes.

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