Austrian Dominic Thiem improved to 17-7 on the clay in Spain with a simple 6-4, 6-1 win over Britain’s Kyle Edmund on Thursday on the Mutua Madrid Open.
Thiem gained 85.7 p.c of his first serves and saved all 4 break factors in opposition to Edmund in 84 minutes of labor.
“It was not easy in the beginning,” Thiem mentioned. “First match on the center court and I was mainly practicing outside, so it is a different feeling. “I had some essential moments within the first set after I saved the break factors after which I launched somewhat bit and it acquired higher and higher.”
Up subsequent for Thiem is fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas. Thiem is 5-3 head-to-head lifetime in opposition to the Greek.
“I am looking forward to that one a lot,” Thiem mentioned. “I like him a lot. He is an unbelievable player, I like watching his matches. He is very elegant. We’ve had some great matchups.”
In different motion Thursday, Dusan Lajovic was a straight-sets winner over Jason Kubler, 6-3, 6-3.
Brit Andy Murray fell to Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori 6-2, 7-6 (7), the latter’s first ATP Masters 1000 victory.
“It is a dream come true,” Vavassori mentioned. “To play at a tournament like this, in a court like this against a true champion like him. He is a hero for everybody on the tour. I think until the second half of the second set, I played the best tennis of my life. Then the nerves came in, but at the end, just joy.”
Tomas Martin Etcheverry was certainly one of two Argentines to advance. Etcheverry dispatched Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-0, whereas Pedro Cachin defeated Jordanian wild card Abdullah Shelbayh 6-1, 6-4.
Marco Cecchinato of Italy took down Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Cristian Garin of Chile was a straight-sets winner over Marc-Andrea Huesler and Marcos Giron beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-2, 7-6 (7) to advance.
Christopher O’Connell of Australia outlasted Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-2 in two hours, 19 minutes.
Russians Roman Safiullin and Alexander Shevchenko each superior. Lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany downed Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 6-3, 6-1.
Qualifier Yosuke Watanuki of Japan was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over France’s Corentin Moutet.
Zhizhen Zhang of China defeated qualifier Jurij Rodionev of Austria 7-6 (6), 6-4. The win was Zhang’s first ATP 1000 victory.
Bernabe Zapata Miralles of Spain outlasted Mackenzie McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) and Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev was a straight-sets winner over Laslo Djere of Serbia.
–Field Level Media