Thiem, Felix Advance In Antwerp

The resurgent Dominic Thiem maintained his good form on the European indoor hard courts Thursday at the European Open in Antwerp, where the Austrian rallied to a tense 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 win against Francisco Cerundolo.

After Thiem made a blistering start to the pair’s second-round clash in Belgium, sixth-seeded Cerundolo appeared to have taken control when he broke Thiem’s serve for 4-3 in the deciding set. The former World No. 3 roared back in style, however, holding his nerve to clinch four of the next five games and seal a hard-fought two-hour, seven-minute victory.

“That’s why I work hard every day, to be able after two hours with a very close score, to play good shots, to play good tennis, because that is when it matters most,” said Thiem after the match. “At 6-5 in the third, you have to come up with good tennis to be able to bring the match over the finish line, and luckily today it was my turn.”

More of this, please...@domithiem 🔥 @EuroTennisOpen pic.twitter.com/WDb7AB65uP

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 20, 2022

It was a second win against Cerundolo in the space of seven days for Thiem, who defeated the Argentine in straight sets in the quarter-finals in Gijon last week. Unlike on that occasion, Cerundolo found a way to halt Thiem’s early momentum and force a deciding set in Antwerp, but the Austrian finished strong to claim victory having converted four of his eight break point opportunities.

“It’s always difficult and interesting to play somebody two weeks in a row,” said Thiem. “It’s a little bit strange, but I came out playing really good, 6-1 in the first set, but I know that he is a great player so it was obvious in mind also that It was not going to continue that way.

“Then I had a bad start to the second set, he took advantage, he came into the net… and the third set was an open game, 50/50. When I was a break down, luckily straightaway [I broke back]. It was a very intense and close match.”

Thiem’s run in Antwerp so far has lifted the 17-time tour-level titlist seven spots to No. 125 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He next faces top seed Hubert Hurkacz as he attempts to reach his third tour-level semi-final of 2022.

“[I'm] 0-3 against him," said Thiem. "For two years he has been [one of] the world’s best, especially indoors. Unbelievable serve, we just played three or four weeks ago in Metz, where he had a pretty easy win against me, and I hope I can make it more difficult for him tomorrow and be able to make another step ahead.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime also reached the quarter-finals on Thursday, when the second seed overcame French lucky loser Manuel Guinard 6-3, 6-3 to extend his winning streak to five matches.

Florence champion Auger-Aliassime fired 23 winners and broke his opponent’s serve three times to earn a comfortable 79-minute win and set a quarter-final clash against fifth seed Daniel Evans. The Canadian knows that a deep run in Antwerp this week would consolidate his position in seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he looks to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.

“I try to play my best every time I step on the court,” said Auger-Aliassime, who has won both his ATP Tour titles on indoor hard courts, after his second-round win. “I’m happy with the way I’ve been playing lately, so hopefully I keep going like this this whole tournament.”

Sebastian Korda and David Goffin also advanced to the quarter-finals with straight-sets wins on Thursday. Korda, who reached his third ATP Tour final in Gijon last week, saved four set points in the second-set tie-break before clinching a dramatic 7-5, 7-6(9) triumph against fourth seed Karen Khachanov to set a quarter-final clash against Yoshihito Nishioka.

Home favourite Goffin upset third seed Diego Schwartzman 7-6(3), 6-2 to reach his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season. The win avenged Goffin’s 2016 semi-final defeat to Schwartzman in Antwerp, where his next opponent will be Richard Gasquet.