Thiem struggled at the start of 2023, with his first-round loss in Miami last month marking his ninth loss in ten matches.
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Dominic Thiem improved his record at the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday, defeating Briton Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-1 to set up a second-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The former World No. 3 has reached the semi-finals in four of his last five visits to Madrid, and he looked in command throughout his first-round match against Edmund. Thiem struggled at the start of 2023, with his first-round loss in Miami last month marking his ninth loss in ten matches. He has, however, begun to find form on European clay, where he has won 10 of his 17 tour-level titles.
“It was not easy in the beginning. First match on the centre court and I was mainly practising outside, so it is a different feeling,” Thiem said as per the ATP website. “I have known Kyle since we were juniors. He has been a tough opponent since the young days, so I went in with a lot of respect. I had some crucial moments in the first set when I saved the break points and then I released a little bit and it got better and better.”
Last month, the Austrian reached the quarterfinals of ATP 250 clay-court events in Estoril and Munich, as well as the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo, to earn his first ATP Masters 1000 title since 2021. He improved to 6-3 on the European clay-court season with his victory over Edmund. The Austrian won 86% (24/28) of his first-serve points and remained strong under pressure, saving all four break points he faced to advance after 84 minutes and improve to 2-0 head to head.
“I love this court, I have great memories and played some great matches here,” Thiem added. “Results wise this is my best [ATP] Masters 1000 tournament by far, so it is time to work on that reputation. Once I was a very tough guy to beat on clay and it is not the case right now, but I am feeling that I am getting better and back to shape.”
Dusan Lajovic won his second tour-level championship in Banja Luka on Sunday, capping off a fantastic week at the Srpska Open. In two hours and 32 minutes, the Serbian defeated Andrey Rublev 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to end the second seed’s eight-match winning streak. Lajovic, who prevailed over Miomir Kecmanovic in the semi-finals in three sets, fired up for his first tour-level championship match of the year. To earn his eighth Top 10 victory, he struck the ball hard to turn Rublev around and remained composed in the third set, serving out the game at the second opportunity.
“Honestly it was probably the toughest match I have had in the past six months. I felt drained,” Lajovic said. “From 5-1 in the third I could not feel my legs and felt a bit dizzy. I knew he was going to fight but somehow I managed to pull it out in the last game. I wasn’t even thinking in the last game. I was just playing automatically and I tried to take the ball early on the forehand. I am thrilled and overwhelmed that I did it this week, that I won an ATP [Tour] title.”
