Tennis: Tim is trying to win a comeback

Tim was recently out of action for a week with a respiratory infection, so he had to cancel his start at the Masters in Cincinnati. The 28-year-old then had a long working day against Wolff, because in addition to the tight score, a 105-minute rain break lengthened the match, which could only go on at 11:30 p.m. local time at 3:2 for Tim V. The third group. In the decisive tiebreak, the lower Austrian saved the two balls of the match at 4/6.

For Tim, it was his first appearance since the Kitzbühel quarter-final at the end of July or the first in the tournament on hard courts since mid-March 2021 in Dubai. Tim has never played against the current number 87 in the ATP rankings. Recently, Wolff surprised to reach the quarterfinals in Washington (ATP-500) and on the way there beat Denis Shapovalov (Canada) and Holger Ron (DEN), among others. He also came close to defeating Tim.

“Nice break to watch”

“I’m so happy I won my first game on hard ground in a long time,” said Thiem on the pitch, and thanked the fans for staying there for so long. “But I think it was good to watch the equalizer,” he said, referring to the end. “Luck was on my side today. It was very similar in Kitzbühel a few weeks ago, there was also a rain stop in the third set and that was where the other player went.”

He initially looked a bit rusty against Wolff and missed a break opportunity in the opening game before having to give up the serve himself to make it 1:3. After 1:4, Thiem increased and got a re-break and then 4:4. The group went into the tiebreak, where Tim quickly fell back to 1/5, and at 3/6 he made two set-pieces before Wolff used the third for 7/5 after 62 minutes.

Spacers on both sides

In the second round, Tim managed the first break to make it 5:3, but had to notice the re-break immediately. Thiem, who also changed his shoes during this stage, stayed on the lookout, and after 1:59 hours tied the set with a zero break to 7:5. After the first three games of the third set, Thiem, who was having trouble with his shoes or Hard court blisters in the past, changing his shoes again. With a score of 3:2, 0:15 (Wolf’s serve), the match had to be interrupted after two and a half hours of play due to sudden rain.

After about 1:45 hours, the players are back on the field. Tim was immediately able to take a break to 4:2, but immediately gave up his service after a very flawed match. The match went into a tiebreak again, which was very dramatic: Tim started strong and was already 4/1 ahead, but Wolff then scored five points at the same time for 6/4 and took two game points. Tim fought this with strong tennis and used his first chance to advance to the second round.

Predict the Dimitrov match

Dimitrov is waiting for him there. Against the world’s 18th seed, who has a wildcard, like the Lower Austrian. Thiem has a 2:4 balance. Thiem has lost his last three matches, most recently in the round of 16 of the Australian Open in 2021.

“It’s great for me that I gave myself the opportunity to play against Gregor. He is a top 20 player right now, one of the biggest names in tennis in the last decade. It is always fun to play against him. I am happy, and I hope it will be a great match.”

ATP 250 Championships at Winston-Salem

(US, $823,420, Saab)