Italian Open 2021: Dominic Thiem vs Marton Fucsovics preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: (4) Dominic Thiem vs Marton Fucsovics
Date: 12 May 2021
Tournament: Internazionali BNL d'italia 2021
Round: Second round (Round of 32)
Venue: Rome, Italy
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Red clay
Prize money: €2,082,960
Match timing: 10 am local time, 1.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Dominic Thiem vs Marton Fucsovics preview
Dominic Thiem, playing just his second clay tournament of the season, will begin his Italian Open campaign on Tuesday with a second-round match against Marton Fucsovics.
Thiem, who hasn't had the best of seasons as per his standards, will be eager to go deep and get more matches under his belt in the lead-up to the French Open. But his recent history in Rome doesn't inspire a lot of confidence; the Austrian hasn't won a single match at the Italian Open since 2017.
After taking a break to "recharge", Thiem returned to the tour last week at the Madrid Open. The World No. 4 managed to reach the semifinals, where he lost to the eventual champion Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Marton Fucsovics, meanwhile, won his first clay match of the season on Monday as he defeated Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-2 in the first round.
Dominic Thiem vs Marton Fucsovics head-to-head
Dominic Thiem leads the head-to-head against Marton Fucsovics by a margin of 1-0. Their only meeting took place in the second round of the 2019 Hamburg Open, where the Austrian won in straight sets.
Dominic Thiem vs Marton Fucsovics prediction
Dominic Thiem enters the match as the overwhelming favorite, given his ranking as well as his form on clay. But Marton Fucsovics, who has reached the second round in Rome for the first time in his career, will leave no stone unturned in trying to pull off an upset and get his career's second top 10 win.
Thiem is yet to hit top form this season, but will be hoping to start his campaign here in Rome with an easy win. He has been serving decently of late, and his groundstrokes were just about good enough to help him get past Alex De Minaur and John Isner last week.
Fucsovics, who is 14-9 this season, reached the biggest final of his career at Rotterdam a couple of months ago. The Hungarian came through qualifying, winning seven matches in a row before losing to Andrey Rublev in straight sets.
That said, Fucsovics' performances on clay this year have been forgettable. He lost in the opening round at both Monte Carlo and Madrid.
For his match against Thiem on Tuesday, Fucsovics needs to be strong on his serve and try and keep the Austrian engaged in long rallies. Thiem on his part will look to keep the points short and outpower the Hungarian off both wings, something that he does against most opponents.
Prediction: Dominic Thiem to win in straight sets.