Former US Open champion Dominic Thiem has won his first match of the season by defeating Alex Molcan 7-6(4), 6-3, in the opening round of the Argentina Open.
Thiem, who has been ranked as high as No.3 in the world, was on a four-match losing streak after suffering early losses at the Adelaide International and Australian Open, as well as being beaten twice during his country’s Davis Cup clash with Croatia. The Austrian, who is currently ranked 48 places lower than Molcan at 99th, broke two times in the match and won 72% of his first service points.
“It was a good match,” Thiem said afterwards. “I like it a lot here in Buenos Aires. Already the last days in practice I was feeling well.
“I won my first match of the season against a very good opponent. I stayed focused throughout the whole match, as well in the difficult moments. So I’m happy and I’m trying to focus fully on the second round now.”
The 29-year-old has an almost perfect record at the Argentina Open after winning the title in 2016 and 2018. His only loss was to Diego Schwartzman in the semi-finals of the tournament in 2019.
Thiem will be hoping to generate some momentum in his form as he aims to return to the world’s top 20 for the first time since January 2022. He missed nine months of the Tour between June 2021 and March 2022 due to a wrist injury. Since his comeback, he has reached the semi-finals of three ATP 250 events.
“I try to stay focused, improve and enjoy. I want to be focused on what is mine and improve day by day,” Thiem later said during his press conference.
“I am working a lot on a mental level. After the pandemic, it was very difficult for me to play and train.” He added.
Thiem will next play Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas in the second round who knocked out Joao Sousa 7-5, 6-2.
Elsewhere at the tournament, the sixth seed and last week’s Cordoba Open champion, Sebastián Báez, boasted a set and a break lead over Dusan Lajovic before losing 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. However, there was better news for fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo who defeated Yannick Hanfmann 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
The two highest-ranked players in the draw, Carlos Alcaraz and Cameron Norrie, will begin their campaigns on Wednesday.