Dominic Thiem races into Australian Open third round

The 3rd seed and the last year's Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem is through to the third round for the fifth time in the last six years in Melbourne.

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Thiem ousted Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in an hour and 39 minutes, rattling off 16 of the final 19 games to move over the top and advance into the last 32. Serving at 70%, the Austrian lost only 14 points behind the initial shot and saved two break points to keep the pressure on the German. Koepfer fought well in the opener before losing ground, giving away six service games to end his run in the second round.

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Dominic fired 34 winners and 21 unforced errors to control the rallies' pace, saving those break points in the opener's sixth game and never looking back. Thiem grabbed a break right after that and closed the first set with a hold in game ten. The Austrian needed under 30 minutes to wrap up the second set, taking all six games for a bagel and gathering boost ahead of set number three. Thiem claimed 18 of the opening 22 points to race into a 4-0 lead, serving well in the remaining games to seal the deal at 5-2. Dominic will face Nick Kyrgios or Ugo Humbert in the third round on Friday.

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