Thiem relieved to save match point in Monte Carlo victory over Rublev
Two-time French Open semi-finalist recovers from set down to reach last 16
Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem saved a match point in a gripping Monte Carlo Masters second-round win over Russian youngster Andrey Rublev yesterday.
The two-time French Open semi-finalist recovered from a set down to book a last-16 clash against either Novak Djokovic or Borna Coric with a 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 victory. Thiem is playing in his first tournament since suffering an ankle injury at Indian Wells last month.
Rublev spurned a match point on his own serve late in the deciding set as he fired a forehand narrowly wide.
“I had to fight from the first to the last point, which of course I did well. But I was also lucky at the end when he had a match point and missed a forehand by 10 centimetres or so,” Thiem said. “I was 10 centimetres from being out of the tournament,” he added.
Thiem, 24, could also have to face defending champion Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals if he can get past Djokovic or the in-form Coric tomorrow.
“It’s a horrible draw for sure, from the first round on,” Thiem conceded. “But I’m happy that I played two hours and 40 [minutes]. But I’m looking forward to watching Djokovic and Coric in front of the TV and then playing the winner on Thursday.”
After Rublev had edged a tight first set, Thiem clinched the second on his fourth set point before racing into a 4-1 lead in the decider.
His 20-year-old opponent cut loose, though, claiming four straight games to serve for the match.
But Rublev struck wide on match point and ran out of steam, double faulting to hand Thiem a place in Round 3 as the world No 7 won the last three games on the spin.
French No 1 Lucas Pouille blew a one-set lead to be dumped out by German serve-and-volleyer Mischa Zverev in a third-set tie-break.
Seventh seed Pouille eased through the first set, but Zverev hit back to claim a 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 victory and reach Round 3 for the first time in his career.
The world No 55 was happy to play baseline rallies with his opponent, saving the serveand-volleys for the crucial points.
The left-hander trailed 4-2 in the decider, but broke back immediately before clinching the tie-break when a Pouille return dropped into the base of the net.
“I’m really excited to have won two matches here in Monte Carlo, it’s an incredible feeling,” said Zverev, 30, who was fined US$45,000 (Dh165,262.50) at the Australian Open for a poor performance in his first-round match against Chung Hyeon.
Zverev had been punished under a new rule implemented by the Grand Slam Board in the off-season intended to deter players with pre-existing injuries from starting a tournament and retiring during their first-round matches.
Fernando Verdasco saved three match points to beat Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas in a firstround match, while his fellow Spanish veteran left-hander edged out Benoit Paire.