Austrian tennis pro Dominic Thiem survived the first round of a Grand Slam tournament at the US Open for the first time in over two years. The 2020 winner won 6: 3, 6: 2, 6: 4 against Kazakh Alexander Bublik, who was seeded in 25th place in New York.
“It’s very special because it’s been a long time. I couldn’t imagine a better place than here with all the memories,” said Thiem: “I’m super, super happy and grateful for the support.”
While his opponent acted completely inconsistently and produced 17 double errors, among other things, Thiem showed a concentrated performance on the grand stand in Flushing Meadows. After 1:54 hours, the Austrian reached the second round of the US Open for the seventh time. The last time he did this at Grand Slam level was in January 2021 at the Australian Open.
For Thiem, who in 2020 in the final Alexander Zverev snatched the possible first Grand Slam title of his career in a memorable tie break in the fifth set, the victory was a liberation. Today’s number 81 in the world has dropped to 352 in the ATP rankings in recent years due to a persistent wrist injury. In the spring of 2023, the Lower Austrian had made mental problems public.