Thiem Fights Into Indian Wells Third Round
Thiem Fights Into Indian Wells Third Round
Seventh seed Dominic Thiem improved to 4-4 on the season with a 6-4, 7-5 win against Aussie Jordan Thompson on Saturday evening at the BNP Paribas Open.
The Austrian broke in the fifth game of the opener, and in the first and 11th games of the second set. Thiem, who reached the 2017 quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event, is now 9-6 in Indian Wells.
“A few upsets [today]. It’s always tricky conditions here,” Thiem said. “But I was practising really good, and the match today was completely decent. I’m happy to get a win after some rough weeks lately, and I’m really looking forwrad to the match on Monday against Gilles.”
The right-hander is looking to bolster his hard-court resume, and he’ll have another opportunity against Frenchman Gilles Simon in the third round. Simon beat Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4.
Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic continued his record-setting Indian Wells. The 40-year-old improved to 3-0 against countryman Borna Coric, advancing 6-4, 7-6(2).
Read More: Karlovic Is Welcoming His 40s With More Records
The 6’10” right-hander will next face India’s No. 1 Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who won his second Masters 1000 match by upsetting 17th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(4).
Read More: 5 Things To Know About Gunneswaran
Basilashvili, a two-time ATP 500 titlist, hit 10 aces but also 11 double faults. The 29-year-old Gunneswaran, No. 97 in the ATP Rankings, was 1-0 in ATP Tour matches before Indian Wells.