Dominic Thiem maintained his outstanding form on the European indoor hard courts on Thursday (Oct, 20) at the European Open in Antwerp, with a tight 6-1, 1-6, 7-5 victory over Francisco Cerundolo. Following Thiem’s scorching start to the pair’s second-round match in Belgium, Cerundolo seemed to seize control when he broke Thiem’s serve for 4-3 in the final set. However, the former World No. 3 stormed back, keeping his nerve to win four of the next five games and earn a hard-fought two-hour, seven-minute triumph. So if you have placed your bet on Thiem’s win at casinos for real money, then you should have probably made a lot of money out of it.
“That’s why I train hard every day. I strive to be able to play excellent strokes and play good tennis after 2 hours with a very tight score. That’s what matters the most,” Thiem said after the match. “At 6-5 in the third, you have to play terrific tennis to get the match over the line, and happily, today it was my time.”
Unbelievable Professional Achievements of Thiem
Thiem’s victory over Cerundolo was his second pro achievement in seven days, having defeated the Argentine in straight sets in the quarterfinals in Gijon last week. Unlike the previous match, Cerundolo could halt Thiem’s early momentum and force a deciding set in Antwerp. Still, the Austrian ended strong to win, converting four of his eight break-point opportunities.
“It’s always challenging and intriguing to play someone twice in succession,” Thiem explained. “It’s odd, but I came out playing quite well, 6-1 in the first set. I know he’s a strong player, so it was evident that it wasn’t going to continue that way. Then I had a terrible start to the second set, which he exploited by coming into the net… and the third set was a 50/50 draw. Fortunately, I broke back right quickly when I was broken down. It was a tough and close contest.”
Thiem’s success in Antwerp has propelled the 17-time tour-level champion up seven ranks to No. 125 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He will next play first seed Hubert Hurkacz in his bid to reach his third tour-level semi-final of 2022. So all fans of the athlete get another great opportunity to support their favourite sportsman and place a bet on his win at the best casinos for Aussies from BestAuCasinosOnline top ratings. Taking into account that tennis is one of the most profitable sports to bet on, you can count on massive gains.
“Against him, I’m 0-3.” Thiem said. “For the past 2 years, he has been [one of] the world’s greatest. Unbelievable serve; we just played three or four weeks ago in Metz, where he had a very easy win against me, and I’m hoping to make it tougher for him tomorrow and go through.”
Auger-Aliassime Fires 23 Winners
On Thursday, Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating French fortunate loser Manuel Guinard 6-3, 6-3 to extend his winning streak to five sets.
Auger-Aliassime hit 23 wins and broke his opponent’s serve three times to claim a 79-minute victory and a quarter-final match against Daniel Evans. The Canadian understands that a strong performance in Antwerp this week will keep him in seventh place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he attempts to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.
“I try to play my best every time I go on the court,” Auger-Aliassime said after his second-round victory. “I try to play my best every time I step on the court. I’m satisfied with how I’ve been playing lately, so maybe I can keep it up for the whole tournament.”
Korda and Goffin Are in the Quarter-Finals
With straight-set victories on Thursday, Sebastian Korda and David Goffin progressed to the quarter-finals. Korda, who reached his third ATP Tour final in Gijon last week, survived four set chances in the second-set tie-break before defeating Karen Khachanov 7-5, 7-6(9) to advance to the quarter-finals against Yoshihito Nishioka. Goffin defeated Diego Schwartzman 7-6(3), 6-2 to get to his fourth tour-level quarter-final of the season. The victory avenged Goffin’s semi-final loss against Schwartzman in Antwerp in 2016, where he will face Richard Gasquet next.
