Dominic Thiem on his R2 match vs. Ben Shelton: "He is a contender for the top 10. Incredible athlete, great serve. It's his first time playing on clay so I will try to use my claycourt experience".
"He's a contender for the top 10": Thiem full of praise for second round opponent Shelton
ATPWednesday, 05 April 2023 at 08:00
Dominic Thiem finally won a tennis match and it came at the Estoril tennis event against compatriot Sebastian Ofner giving him confidence ahead of the second round.
Thiem has been largely struggling this year with only two wins before this one. It seemed like another loss when he was down 1-5 in the first set but the Australian was able to battle back and take the match in three sets. After the match Thiem said that his level has been better this year than last year but some things simply don't work out in his favour:
“I’m actually playing much better than in the second half of 2022 when I was winning matches. My ball is heavier, I can hurt opponents. Just some things aren’t clicking as I want. I hope this win (and week) is the start of something.”
It was a good start and there is certainly room for this week to be a good one but it will be very tough in the second round. He's facing rising star Ben Shelton who just won his first match on clay ever. Thiem expects a battle but also for his experience to help him:
"He is a contender for the top 10. Incredible athlete, great serve. It's his first time playing on clay so I will try to use my claycourt experience".
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