The heavy crowds of the weekend days have been replaced by a smaller number of dedicated fans at the BNP Paribas Open as the Round 3 of the men’s tournament gets underway with all the top favorites (except Andy Murray) still in contention.
After an almost 3-hour match between Kerber and Parmentier, even the fluo green-dressed “We Are tennis Fan Academy” pupils (invited by the tournament’s main sponsor) needed a well-deserved break, leaving the stands even more empty that usual under the scorching desert sun.
The Austrian n.8 seed Dominic Thiem was unfettered by the lack of atmosphere and the torrid conditions as he routinely disposed n. 33 Misha Zverev in 58 minutes with a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 victory.
As world n.1 Andy Murray showed clear unease in facing serve&volley players like Zverev (who ousted him at the Australian Open) by falling to young Canadian Vasek Pospisil in his opening round match. Thiem showed no sign of discomfort caused by his opponent’s aggressive style of play as he proceeded to sprint through the first set in only 21 minutes. His trademark backhand proved an invincible weapon for Zverev’s left-handed serves and net approaches, while the German’s shaky groundstrokes did very little to contract Thiem during baseline rallies.
A slightly more contended second set nevertheless saw Thiem constantly in the lead, comfortably serving out the match at 5-4 in the second set after missing a match-point in the previous game. The Austrian reached the fourth round in the first Masters 1000 of the season for the second year in a row and will defend his chances to advance to the Quarterfinals against either American John Isner or Frenchman Gael Monfils who will close Stadium 1’s evening session.
