Dominic Thiem continued his brilliant run of results, which saw him lift the title in Buenos Aires last week, with a first round victory in Rio de Janeiro against accomplished claycourter Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-4.
The Austrian will look to further establish his reputation as a first class player in Brazil this week, where he will be aiming to grab his fourth title on clay. Thiem faces Schwartzman in the second round after he defeated local player Joao Souza 6-3, 6-2.
All in all it was a good day for the Argentine legion as Federico Delbonis stunned sixth seed Jack Sock 7-5, 6-1 just a day after Guido Pella overcame another American, John Isner, in three tight sets. The sour note of the day was Juan Monaco’s retirement when trailing Spanish qualifier Dani Gimeno 5-2 in the first set. Fortunately, the withdrawal had nothing to do with the Argentine’s recently operated right wrist. “I could feel some pains in my shoulder and it got worse. I’m returning to Argentina to have it looked at. I know I need patience with my return to the game but I have to keep my head up”, expressed Monaco after retiring in just his second event since returning to the tour.
The ever-consistent David Ferrer was made to work hard to overcome Chilean wildcard Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 7-6. Ferrer, who reached the semi finals in Argentina last week, had to save five set points in the second set and ended up squeezing through in the tie break. He will now take on compatriot Albert Ramos, who benefitted from Dusan Lajovic’s withdrawal in the first set.
The other results in a rain affected day included victories for Fabio Fognini (d. Bedene), Paolo Lorenzi (d. Cecchinato), Iñigo Cervantes (d. Daniel) and Santi Giraldo (d. Elias).
Rafa Nadal is set to play today against Pablo Carreño but will have to wait and see if the weather clears up.
