Tim and Offner’s Opening Victories at the US Open Tennis Championships

Last week Tim fell ill with “some kind of gastritis” and was therefore forced to forgo an appearance at the ATP Championships in Winston-Salem. But at the weekend, the 29-year-old announced he was ready to duel with the unorthodox Bublik. Then he did not interfere with his antics as he wanted, but Tim in turn kept his nerve and played down the importance of the match. In the third set he had to concede a break of serve to his opponent, but then served after 1:52 hours.

“It’s very special,” Thiem said on court, also referring to his 2020 US Open victory. “It means a lot to me that my first Grand Slam win happened here. I couldn’t have chosen a better venue for this. I’m so happy, I’m so happy.” Thiem also underlined the difference from three years ago, when he triumphed against empty lines in the final, and confirmed that the Kitzbühel final he reached at the beginning of the month gave him a lot of self. -trust. “I’m back on the right track. My game is back.”

Bublik is known, among other things, for his numerous stops, and such a failed stop gave Tim his first chance. Although Austria’s number two had to immediately accept the break with a feint forehand, he stayed on the trigger and increased it to 5:3 after being on guard with one of Bublik’s famous serves from below. Then the 26-year-old from Kazakhstan found another deciding ball, but after 38 minutes Thiem pocketed the all-important set.

The break to make it 2-1 paved the way for the next set win, as Bublik gave up his first service match in the third set. As a result, the real candidate sometimes behaved rather half-heartedly and therefore also dangerous. Then he came a bit close, as he did in the second round of the French Open, but Thiem still emerged victorious in the end. “He’s a solid player, he was seeded. Winning in three sets I couldn’t be happier,” said Thiem. “I’m happy to have at least one more match. I hope I can start running again.”

And ideally, Ofner also intends to do the same, having celebrated his first victory in five and a half weeks in his first duel with Nunes. Most recently, the 27-year-old has lost in Umag, Kitzbuhel and Winston-Salem, but remains in the top 60. Given the rating (58 to 79), the Austrian number one was considered a slight favorite against the Southern European side, and his nerves of steel in the tie-break were also decisive. In Group D, memories of Kitzbühel’s victory over Alex Mulkan (SVK) surfaced.

Ofner Borges didn’t get any closer than 2:5 to 4:5. In the first set, the ÖTV professional made up for a break against himself, going into a tie-break. With a 2:0 lead, Offner initially led in the second round as well, but after leading 3:1 he was trailing. The third set was decisive when, after leading 4-1, Offner had to go into a tie-break again. Leading the set 2:1, he then fell back to 5:1 and only briefly thought about the Molkan match when he lost after leading 6:4,5:0.

Ofner summed up the match, which was played in wet conditions: “It was a really tough game – not of a high class, but very tough.” He appreciated winning the third set very highly. “I noticed then in the fourth set of the first half that I was very present.” And he was satisfied to send it. It saved me well here and there. I also played well in important situations.

After the successful 2:55 hour mark, Ofner naturally became an obvious outsider against Tiafoe on Wednesday. He never played against the 25-year-old 10th in the world rankings, also in this year’s Wiener Erste Bank Open. Thiem leads 1-0 over 20-year-old Shilton head-to-head. He won the match this year in the round of 16 from Estoril on clay 6:2,6:2, and now the first match on hard courts is imminent. as world number 47. Chilton is 34 places ahead of Tim in the rankings. With Bublik, Lichtenwörther’s team defeated number 27.

Vorarlberg’s Julia Graber had to cancel her US Open debut against China’s Wang Xiu due to a wrist injury. This means that Austria is no longer represented in women’s competitions.