By Erik Gudris | Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Two-time Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem rallied from behind in a third-set tiebreak to beat Jack Sock in straight sets and reach the third round.
Photo credit: Roland Garros Facebook
Dominic Thiem once again proved that having little time to prepare for Roland-Garros is not causing any problems for him. The recent US Open champion now finds himself in the third round once again in Paris.
The third-seeded Thiem defeated Jack Sock 6-1 6-3, 7-6(6).
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Thiem has yet to drop a set in Paris despite not having much time to prepare on clay after his title run in New York.
Thiem entered Roland-Garros without playing any warm up tournaments on clay after New York. But the 27-year-old Austrian is relying on his experience to get him through the early rounds.
“I feel pretty good, to be honest. I mean, not perfectly perfect. I guess that's normal,” Thiem said afterward. “I think the main thing is that I fight one hundred percent like I did today. I mean, it paid off.
"I was saving three set points to avoid a fourth set. That's very important in the early rounds, to save energy, to play as less sets as possible. That's good.”
Thiem was in control for most of the match over Sock, a former top 10 player, now slowly making his way back up in the rankings after several years of injury struggles. Thiem lost only three points on his serve in the first set and broke Sock three times as well to take the opening 6-1.
Thiem, who reached the finals last year before losing to Rafael Nadal, secured a service break in the second set before taking control of the match 6-1, 6-3.
Things did get tough in the third set for both men as they traded service breaks. Sock improved his play and managed to get himself into a tiebreak. Sock then jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak and looked poised to force a fourth set.
Sock, however, committed several forehand errors down the stretch to allow Thiem back in the tiebreak. Thiem then held a match point on his serve that he converted later when Sock struck yet another forehand wide.
Thiem celebrated the 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(6) victory that is also his 140th match win on clay.
Sock talked later about the challenges of playing against Thiem.
“Once he's in control, you know, control of the points, or playing ahead in the score, you know, he's tough to catch,” Sock said. “His ball is tough to catch up to out there, similar to a Rafa (Nadal). He can play his style for as long as he needs to. Then usually, I would say his opponent is probably usually the one getting tired first out there. If the opponent is getting tired at all, his game will devastate you even more.”
Thiem will play Rome semifinalist Casper Ruud, who outlasted Tommy Paul in five sets, for a spot in the fourth round.