It will be Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Dominic Thiem in round two of the Mutua Madrid Open after Thiem defeated Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday afternoon.
Thiem took advantage of a fellow competitor who has missed a ton of time due to injuries, as Edmund currently registers at 498th in the rankings. The 29-year-old Austrian did not drop serve a single time, saving all four of the break points he faced to advance in one hour and 22 minutes.
“It was not easy in the beginning,” Thiem said. “First match on the center court and I was mainly practicing outside, so it is a different feeling. I have known Kyle since we were juniors. He has been a tough opponent since the young days, so I went in with a lot of respect. I had some crucial moments in the first set when I saved the break points and then I released a little bit and it got better and better.”
Saturday will mark a battle between two players whose career-high ranking is No. 3. Tsitsipas, currently fifth in the world, trails the head-to-head series 5-3. It is tied up at 1-1 on clay after they split a pair of 2018 encounters; Tsitsipas prevailed in Barcelona before Thiem won at the French Open.
“I am looking forward to that one a lot,” Thiem assured. “He is an unbelievable player. I like watching his matches; he is very elegant. We’ve had some great matchups.”
will be a good test to see where Thiem is really at