As was to be expected, Dominic Thiem on Tuesday advanced to the second round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The world’s number 4 beat “lucky loser” Vitaly Sachko from Ukraine 6.4, 7:5.
It was the first ATP tour main draw match for Sachko, ranked no. 529 in the world, ever. As a “lucky loser” he got the spot of Kei Nishikori who had to withdraw from the tournament because of an injury. And Sachko’s nerves showed in the beginning when Thiem seemed to steamroll over him. But suddenly the Ukrainian was back in the game finding himself trying to tie the set, but Thiem got his swagger back and broke Sachko to finally take the first set 6-4.
In the second set, Sachko sprang to a 1-0 lead as he broke Thiem’s serve right at the start, with Thiem immediately breaking back. The match turned into a see-saw battle with the favorite eventually coming out on top, winning the set 6:4, 7:5.
Wawrinka out
In the final match of the day, Cristian Garin (CHI) beat 3-times Grand Slam tournament winner Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland 6-4, 6-7(9), 6-3.