Dominic Thiem opens his "Thiem's 7" campaign with close win over Casper Ruud
World No. 3 Dominic Thiem, who is hosting the "Thiem's 7" exhibition tournament this week, started his campaign with a straight-sets but hard-fought win over upcoming Norwegian Casper Ruud.
In the second match on the second day of the Thiem's 7 tournament, it was Dominic Thiem who was faster off the blocks as he took the opener 7-5. But the Austrian failed to ride his momentum in the second set as he fell behind 1-4.
It was then Ruud's turn to lose some momentum of his own, as Dominic Thiem won three games on the trot to make it four games apiece. The set eventually proceeded to a tiebreak where Ruud opened up a 4-1 lead.
But the young Norwegian ended up relinquishing his lead, which proved costly. Dominic Thiem came roaring back and kept his foot on the pedal, winning six consecutive points to wrap up a tough win.
Earlier in the day, Italian Matteo Berrettini kick-started his campaign in the Thiem's 7 tournament by beating Dennis Novak 7-6(6), 6-3. Roberto Bautista Agut then dropped just seven games against Russia's Karen Khachanov to wrap up proceedings on the first day of Dominic Thiem's tournament.
What is Dominic Thiem's tournament all about?
After winning the first leg of the now infamous Adria Tour in Belgrade, Dominic Thiem immediately got busy in the organizational work of Thiem's 7. The claycourt exhibition is being hosted by the Austrian and his father Wolfgang Thiem in Kitzbuhel from 7 to 11 July.
Besides Dominic Thiem, the other participants in Thiem's 7 are Andrey Rublev, Roberto Bautista Agut, Casper Ruud, Matteo Berrettini, Denis Novak and Karen Khachanov.
In an interview last week, Dominic Thiem had spoken about his new experience of hosting a tennis tournament:
"It was the first time I saw a bit of the organisation, calling the players and asking if they were coming, which was a lot of fun," said Thiem. "Of course it is also the first time in Kitzbuhel since the emotional triumph last year."
The 2020 Australian Open finalist also acknowledged his father Wolfgang's efforts in organizing the Thiem's 7 tournament in Kitzbuhel.
"My father Wolfgang is there as a sports director and many Kitzbühelers are behind this project," Thiem added. "It is just fantastic to be here again. I arrived in the best weather and have already had a good training session. Now it is time to adjust to the altitude."
Dominic Thiem next plans to play another exhibition tournament in Berlin, the Bett1 Aces, before resuming his season at the Cincinnati Masters in New York next month.