Dominic Thiem, Pablo Carreno Busta Ease Into Hamburg Quarterfinals - UBITENNIS

Dominic Thiem, Pablo Carreno Busta Ease Into Hamburg Quarterfinals

Nikoloz Basilashvili and Nicolas Jarry also reached the final eight.

By Cole Paxton
3 Min Read
Dominic Thiem (zimbio.com)

Top seed Dominic Thiem and No. 3 seed Pablo Carreno Busta each needed little more than an hour to record straightforward victories and move into the last eight in steamy Hamburg.

Thiem handled Australian John Millman 6-2, 6-2, winning a remarkable 26 of 29 first serve points and saving all three break points he faced. Carreno Busta, meanwhile, lost just two games of 64 minutes before Aljaz Bedene retired down 2-6, 0-4.

The Austrian, seeking his third clay title of the year, put just 57 percent of first serves in play, but still won well over half of points on his serve. Millman, meanwhile, struggled on his serve, facing 11 break points and winning no more than five consecutive points.

Thiem secured consecutive breaks in the first set, then put Millman deeply on the defensive after breaking the opening game of the second set. Thiem faced no break points in the final 10 games, eventually converting his third match point.

“I had a very good start, broke him in a really good game,” Thiem said on-court. “From then on I played a little bit more free. Overall, I’m really satisfied.”

He faces Chilean youngster Nicolas Jarry, who advanced on Richard Gasquet’s walkover, next.

Carreno Busta, who had a strong spring clay season, won half of his eight break points and saved all five he faced against the ailing Bedene. The Spaniard won the last seven games before the Slovenian, whose left hip was bothering him, pulled the plug. The world No. 13 steadily outclassed his opponent, and won an impressive 14 of 17 points on Bedene’s second serve.

He meets qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili, after the Georgian launched a stirring comeback to defeat Pablo Cuevas. The Uruguayan led 6-1 in the opening set tiebreaker, but Basilashvili won seven straight points to launch his 7-6, 6-4 victory.

Cuevas, the 2016 runner-up in the final major clay event of the season, rebounded well from the shocking collapse, winning his first three service games in the second set at love. But he was subsequently broken, and failed to convert a break point in the ensuing game. Basilashvili, meanwhile, won two-thirds of service points despite putting 46 percent of first serves in play.

Also Friday, No. 2 seed Diego Schwartzman meets fellow Argentine Leo Mayer, and qualifiers Thiago Monteiro and Josef Kovalik will play.

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