After a shaky start, the 29-year-old broke his No. 122-ranked opponent twice in each of the second and third sets to win the match.
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Dominic Thiem, who had not won since mid-February, showed all of his tenacity to battle to a first-round victory on Tuesday at the clay-court Estoril Open in Portugal. Sebastian Ofner was defeated by his fellow Austrian 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 for Thiem’s first victory in five tour-level contests. After a shaky start, the 29-year-old broke his No. 122-ranked opponent twice in each of the second and third sets to win the match in two hours and five minutes and advance to face Ben Shelton in the second round.
Thiem won the match and increased his head to head series lead against his compatriot to 3-0 by converting five of the 16 break points he earned against Ofner. The turnaround was facilitated by a few instances of his trademark brilliance, especially off his backhand victory. After Tuesday’s victory, he now has a 2-8 record for the season, which he will hope will serve as a starting point for better performance. Thiem has historically excelled on clay, reaching the Roland Garros final in 2018 and 2019. On the surface, he has triumphed in 10 of his 17 tour-level victories.
The 2023 Monte Carlo Masters will miss three of the biggest names in world tennis today as Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime all pulled out within an hour on Tuesday. Nadal’s decision did not come as a surprise as the veteran had only just returned to training after suffering an injury earlier this year, However, fans were definitely not ready for Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime’s withdrawals only a few minutes afterwards.
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The Spanish teenager made his decision public via social media, where he said that he was suffering from post-traumatic arthritis and has muscular discomfort in the spine. “After two months of competing, I’m happy to be back home but sad that I finished my semifinal match in Miami with soreness,” he wrote. “After visiting my doctor @drlopezmartinez in Murcia today and being evaluated, I will not be able to go to Monte Carlo to start the tour on the ground,” the Spaniard wrote.
Felix Auger-Aliassime also had to withdraw due to injury, stating that he had been struggling with his left knee, and hoped that he would be back in time for the Madrid Open. “Unfortunately I have to announce my retirement from the @rolexmontecarlomasters this year,” the Canadian wrote on Twitter. “It is an event that I look forward to each year however, I have been struggling with my left knee for the past few weeks and decided it was the smartest decision to take some time off so I’m able to fully heal and recover before my next tournament at the @mutuamadridopen. Thank you as always for your support and I look forward to seeing you back on court soon.”
