Thiem Right at Home in 1st-Round Win at a Chilly French Open

Sports

September 28th, 5:52pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

Austria's Dominic Thiem serves against Croatia's Marin Cilic in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament. (AP)

Dominic Thiem felt right at home in the cold of the French Open on Monday. While most players have complained about the chilly weather conditions at Roland Garros, the third-seeded Thiem had no such concerns as he advanced to the second round by beating Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. The temperature on Court Philippe Chatrier dropped as low as 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit). “I love the conditions because I’m from Austria, because I know how it is in these cold conditions," Thiem said on court. “Ten, 15 degrees, I love it.” Two weeks ago, Thiem won his first major tournament at the US Open in New York. For his switch to the clay courts of Roland Garros, where he has lost the past two finals to Rafael Nadal, he faced a big-serving Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion. But Cilic dropped his serve six times against Thiem. Even when Cilic broke for a 2-0 lead in the third set, Thiem broke straight back as Cilic sliced a volley at the net wide. A forehand down the line gave Thiem his first match point, and he clinched it when Cilic returned a timid second serve into the net. Adapting to clay so soon after hard courts was a unique sensation for Thiem. “Very short, never happened before that two major tournaments are two weeks (apart),” he said. “I was facing another great champion today so the transition to the clay and the cold conditions went really well. I really love this tournament.” Thiem will next face American qualifier Jack Sock, who beat Reilly Opelka 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. In other men's play, 19th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime lost to Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2534486/thiem-right-home-1st-round-win-chilly-french-open