BASTAD, July 12, 2022
Dominic Thiem has recorded his first match win on the ATP Tour in 14 months by reaching the second round of the Nordea Open in Bastad. In front of packed stands in his tournament debut in Sweden, the 28-year-old Austrian rallied past Emil Ruusuvuori from Finland 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) on Tuesday afternoon.
Thiem struck six aces and won 70 per cent of his first-service points to secure victory in two hours and 37 minutes.
Back To Winning Ways! 👏@domithiem records a first ATP Tour win in 426 days! The Austrian defeats Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-1 7-6 @NordeaOpen #NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/rlQD1rGarP
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 12, 2022
“It was a long match against a very good opponent,” said Thiem. “That’s exactly what I need now to get faster, to get the anticipation and the reaction back. I played a good second and third set. Only in the end I couldn’t control the nerves that well but that’s normal when you play without a lot of confidence. I am happy that I did it.”
The former World No. 3 was forced to retire during his second-round match at the Mallorca Championships in June last year, suffering pain in his right wrist that ended up being diagnosed as a muscle tear and kept him sidelined from the courts for nine months.
“It’s a long time,” said Thiem. “My last victory was in Rome in 2021, it feels like a different world somehow. Many, many things happened. It was tough, but it was also a very good experience, I think, for life in general. I’m so happy that I got this first victory here today.”
Thiem, currently ranked at 339th position, will next take on No. 4 seed Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain.
Huesler downs Rune
Qualifier Marc-Andrea Huesler caused the upset of the day, as he knocked out seventh-seeded Danish teenager Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4. The World No. 108 from Switzerland fired 10 aces and broke his rival’s serve three times to prevail after one hour and 12 minutes.
Huesler will next challenge Laslo Djere of Serbia.
Too Strong! 💪
Marc-Andrea Huesler upsets Rune 6-3 6-4 in Bastad@NordeaOpen #NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/PGOFInRnib
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 12, 2022
In other action, Francisco Cerundolo set a second-round clash with the tournament’s top seed Casper Ruud from Norway. The 23-year-old Argentine beat Portuguese qualifier Pedro Sousa 6-4, 6-3.
The encounter lasted one hour and 26 minutes.
