New York: Second seed Dominic Thiem celebrated his 27th birthday with a commanding 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Sumit Nagal of India here Thursday. The Indian playing in the main draw of the US Open for the first time was no match for the Austrian. Dominic Thiem dominated the match completely getting past Nagal in just 120 minutes.
Thiem, seeking his maiden Grand Slam title, won an overwhelming 74 per cent of his first serve points and fired seven aces past the inexperienced Nagal. In the process broke Nagal’s serve seven times during the match.
Thiem was runner-up at the Australian Open this year, before coronavirus-hit world to end to sporting activities for more than five months. Thiem has only played five sets at the tournament after his first-round opponent Jaume Munar retired.
“It’s difficult to say where I stand because I recently played a lot of exhibition matches,” said Thiem. He however, lost his opening match at the Western & Southern Open tournament last week. “Hopefully, I can get back to the level before we stopped due to the (COVID-19) crisis,” he added.
Nagal became the first Indian in seven years to win Tuesday a singles match at Flushing Meadows. However, the 23-year-old showed only flashes of brilliance in a one-sided clash at Arthur Ashe Stadium. In fact, Nagal was completely dominated by Thiem.
Daniil Medvedev meanwhile charged into the US Open third round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 demolition of Australian battler Christopher O’Connell. The Russian third seed, beaten by Rafa Nadal in last year’s classic final, broke 116th-ranked O’Connell four times while giving him nothing on serve under a closed roof at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
O’Connell once used to clean boats in Sydney to make ends meet. It was a time when injuries hampered his tennis aspirations. He took a lengthy medical time-out to have a trainer work on an apparent back strain at 4-1 in the second set. The 26-year-old dug in admirably in the final set, prising his only two breakpoints from the Russian, but Medvedev saved them and sealed the match with a big serve.
In the women’s segment, Serena Williams kept hopes of a 24th Grand Slam title alive battling past Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan 6-2, 6-4. The first game was an easy affair for Serena, but in the second she had to battle hard.
