US Open 2020: Dominic Thiem vs Jaume Munar preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Dominic Thiem vs Jaume Munar
Date: 1 September 2020
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: Round of 128
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing: 12.30 pm EDT, 10 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar
Dominic Thiem vs Jaume Munar preview
World No. 3 Dominic Thiem opens his campaign at the 2020 US Open against Spain's Jaume Munar on Tuesday.
The Austrian did not have an ideal return to competitive tennis after the lockdown as he fell to a shock defeat against Filip Krajinovic in his Cincinnati opener. He enters the US Open as the number two seed, just as he did at Cincinnati, and would be looking to turn things around soon.
While Thiem achieved a career-high ranking of No. 3 this year, he is yet to win a ATP singles title in 2020. He even found himself in a few controversies during the lockdown period: his refusal to contribute to the Players Relief Fund and his involvement in the ill-fated Adria Tour.
Thiem will be keen to move on from those incidents and focus on the second Grand Slam of the year, where his best performance is a quarterfinal appearance in 2018.
Dominic Thiem's first-round opponent, Jaume Munar, is ranked 105th in the world. He played the qualifiers of the 2020 Cincinnati Masters but could not make it to the main draw. However, he had qualified for the main draw of the Australian Open in January where he reached the second round.
Munar was also a quarterfinalist at the Cordoba Open earlier this year.
Dominic Thiem vs Jaume Munar head-to-head
Dominic Thiem has a 100% record against Jaume Munar; he has beaten the young Spaniard in all three meetings (on clay).
Thiem clinched straight-sets wins in their first two matches in 2018 and 2019, but earlier this year Munar pushed the Austrian to three sets in Rio de Janeiro.
Their US Open first-round match will be the first hardcourt encounter between the duo.
Dominic Thiem vs Jaume Munar prediction
After his loss in Cincinnati, Dominic Thiem will be pumped to start his US Open campaign on a winning note. Having made his first Grand Slam hardcourt final at the Australian Open this year, Thiem will look for a deeper run in New York this time after falling in the first round last year.
Considering his superior big-match pedigree and experience, Dominic Thiem is expected to extend his winning streak over Munar and advance to the next round.
Prediction: Dominic Thiem to win in straight sets.