Third seed Dominic Thiem has crashed out of his home tournament after suffering a 6-2, 7-5, loss to Viktor Troicki in the second round of the Vienna Open.
The Austrian produced an erratic performance, featuring 44 unforced errors and only ten winners, to enable Troicki to book his place in the last eight. The unseeded Serbian successfully fended off seven break points throughout the second set.
“I do not know what it was,” Thiem said about his lackluster performance. “I’ve never found the right center in my shots, I took too much risk. It was not catastrophic, but very disappointing.”
Suffering another early exit at his home tournament after his first round loss last year, Thiem’s chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals has suffered a blow. The world No.9 is currently in the eighth and final qualifying spot for the $7 million tournament, but could fall down the rankings by the end of the week. Marin Cilic could overtake Thiem if he wins the Swiss Open.
“I’m going to Paris with a very good cushion,” an upbeat Thiem said about his chances of playing in the finals. “It was a super season, and it would be the absolute crown. If it does not work out in spite of the very good starting position, I will not be so sad.”
Murray struggles
Top seed Andy Murray endured a bumpy route into the quarterfinals after recovering from a set down to defeat Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. The world No.2 struggled to maintain consistency in his form during the early stages of the match against his tough challenger. A winning second service rate of 29% was not good enough for the Brit as he dropped serve three times before losing the opening set.
Regardless of the sluggish start to the match from the Wimbledon champion, Murray had the edge when it comes to endurance in matches against Simon. As the Frenchman started to produced more errors, Murray broke three consecutive times in the second set to force a decider. It was a similar storyline in the final set with Murray being helped towards the finish line thanks to his opponent’s errors. Surviving some marathon rallies, the Brit clinched the match after two-and-a-half hours thanks to a Simon forehand drifting long.
.@andy_murray d. Simon 46 62 62 to win 12th consecutive match & reach QF @ErsteBankOpen. 67 match wins this year leads @ATPWorldTour.
— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) 27 October 2016
Battling to his 16th career win over Simon on the tour, Murray will face John Isner in the next round. He is currently on a 12-match winning streak after clinching titles in Beijing and Shanghai.
Things were more straightforward for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as he bids to win his first title of 2016. The French eighth seed rallied back from a break down and saved a set point in the opening set to overcome Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(6), 6-2. Tsonga, who won the Vienna crown in 2011, dropped just seven points on his serve throughout the second set, sealing the match with an ace down the line.
Next for Tsonga will be a meeting with Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Spaniard reached his eighth ATP quarter-final of the season after defeating two-time champion Jurgen Melzer 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. World No.26 Ramos-Vinolas converted eight out of 12 break points throughout the match.
