A star-studded lineup takes the court in Vienna on Thursday, with French Open semifinalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in action against Grigor Dimitrov and U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem taking on Cristian Garin.
(3) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Thursday may just feature the greatest second-round ATP 500 lineup ever, including a clash between Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No. 20 Grigor Dimitrov. It’s only been a couple of weeks since these two players met for the first time on the red clay of the Roland Garros in the round of 16. As Tsitsipas was one of the standouts from that event, Dimitrov wasn’t able to put up much of a fight in his straight-set loss to the Greek.
Unfortunately for Dimitrov, the change in surface from clay to indoors is probably not going improve his chances much. Tsitispas, ranked No. 5 now, has been climbing up the rankings since his breakthrough in Toronto several years ago. He comes into Vienna fresh off an impressive (though ultimately unsuccessful) semifinal showdown against Novak Djokovic. The underdog clawed his way back from two sets down to force Djokovic to five sets.
Dimitrov seems to have rediscovered some of the form that once catapulted him to No. 3 in the world. He’s had strong results since his second round ouster at the U.S. Open, with a quarterfinal in Rome and the semis in Antwerp to show for his efforts. Still, a red-hot Tsitsipas is probably not who the Bulgarian would prefer to see on the other side of the net in the second round. This will be a tough one for Dimitrov.
Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 2
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 2
(2) Dominic Thiem vs. Cristian Garin
Dominic Thiem was touted as the heir apparent to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. Prior to 2020, the Austrian found himself in consecutive French Open finals in 2018 and 2019, coming up short to Nadal on both occasion. And yet the big breakthrough for the world No. 3 came at this year’s U.S. Open, where he earned his first slam title. That win, however, did not translate to the French Open two weeks later. Thiem was knocked out in the quarters by an inspired Diego Schwartzman, who was dispatched by eventual champion Nadal in the semis.
Cristian Garin, ranked 22nd in the world, has enjoyed moderate ATP success but has not managed to break through at the majors yet. The Chilean’s best career result at a slam came just a few weeks ago with his third-ound run at the French Open. This will be the first meeting between Thiem and Garin. Garin posted an impressive win over Stan Wawrinka in the first round this week, but Thiem will likely be too tough playing on home turf in Austria for the underdog to notch an upset.
Cheryl pick: Thiem in 2
Ricky pick: Thiem in 2
WWW?
Tpas in 3; Thiem in 2.
Dimi in 3! Yay, I got it right for once!