(New York) Austria’s Dominic Thiem successfully entered the US Open, which he won in 2020, by knocking out the No. 25 seed, Kazakh Alexander Bublik, in three sets 6- 3, 6-2, 6-4.
Now 81st in the world, Thiem, who will turn 30 on Sunday, had not passed the first round of a Grand Slam tournament since his elimination in the round of 16 of the Australian Open in 2021.
“It’s been a very long time,” he confirmed on court after the game, saying he was “very happy” with the win.
In the next round, he will face Argentinian Pedro Cachin (66th in the world) or American Ben Shelton (47th).
Thiem, a former world No.3, had sunk to the depths of the rankings (352nd in 2022) after his victory at the United States Open in 2020, followed by a final at the Masters, in particular due to a long battle to overcome a wrist injury.
With this victory on Monday, he confirms his return to form after reaching the final of the Austrian tournament in Kitzbühel in early August, where he lost to Argentinian Sebastian Baez.
Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 35th in the world and seeded N.22, qualified for the second round on Monday, beating Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki (N.85), 7-5, 6-7 (3/7) , 6-3, 7-5.
At the start of the tournament, the Francilien had to face a very aggressive player, a big server, who tried to speed up the exchange at the slightest opportunity, even if it meant committing a whopping 64 unforced errors.
But the experience and consistency of Adrian Mannarino, in service in particular, but also in return, ended up making the difference.
In the second round, the leader of the French male delegation will face the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (N.92), who beat Richard Gasquet in the first round.
Richard Gasquet (85th in the world) lost in the first round of the United States Open on Monday, against Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (92nd), winner 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6 -7 (1/7), 6-2 for the Frenchman who ends a season without a single Grand Slam victory.
The last season Gasquet didn’t reach the second round of any Major was in 2004, and he didn’t play at Flushing Meadows at all.
He was playing his 19th U.S. Open this year where he reached the semifinals in 2013 and was beaten in the third round last year.
Helpless in the first two sets, the 37-year-old Frenchman hung in the third. While Marozsan served for the match at 5-3, Gasquet lost the break and managed to take the set to the tiebreaker.
After an exchange of serve in the top of the fourth inning, Marozsan broke the break to lead 5-4 and, once again, serve for the game. But the Biterrois broke and the two men found themselves embroiled in a new tiebreaker, after Marozsan saved two set points for Gasquet on his serve. The French clearly dominated the decisive game.
The fifth set turned to the advantage of the Hungarian when he managed the break to break away 4-2. He then concluded on the service of the Frenchman.
It is therefore Marozsan, 23, who will face in the second round another Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino (35th), or the Japanese Yosuke Watanuki (85th).
The Hungarian is taking part in his first United States Open. For his very first Grand Slam tournament, at Wimbledon in July, he was eliminated in the second round.
