Dominic Thiem came from two sets to love down for just the second time in his career. He ousted American qualifier Denis Kudla 6-7, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Thiem had only ever come back from two sets to love down in grand slam play once before, against Ernests Gulbis at the second round of the US Open in 2014.
Both player played a weird first set in which neither man managed to hold serve with any consistency. Thiem serve for the set first at 5-3, only to lose the next three games. Kudla returned the favour, failing to serve out at 6-5.
Kudla’s game was based mainly on an excellent consistency on his backhand, but was struggling to commit with his forehand. Thiem dropped the set in the tie break despite leading at 6-4.
The second set saw Kudla continue to use his backhand to punish a passive Thiem. The 5th seed was utilising his game more suited to clay, moving back on second serves to take more time. This gave Kudla plenty of time to chase down Thiem’s shots for easy holds. The American broke in game eight, and served out, saving break points in the process.
Set three saw Thiem readjust and begin to dominate the baseline exchanges. The Kudla forehand, already giving up plenty of unforced errors, continued to wilt under the relentless athleticism from Thiem. Kudla held a marathon game at 3-3, taking more than thirteen minutes. It would be the last hold in the game for the American, as Thiem would break two games later, and take the set.
Kudla started to tire more noticeably in the 4th, as even his trusty backhand started to crumble too. The result was a double break set in quick time for Thiem, who levelled the match.
Kudla yielded the break immediately in the 5th, as Thiem tried to race through the set. Kudla gamely saved more break points in game five to prevent the double break. Thiem remained in control though, and the Austrian avoided the shock loss.
Thiem: “We practice all year round to play in these conditions. We all just come from the off-season. We are all the freshest now. But we have to stay hydrated and not play too long.”
“Denis he really played extraordinary. He won four matches already so it gave him a big boost.“
