Dominic Thiem reached his first quarterfinal of the year on Thursday at the Millennium Estoril Open, defeating #NextGenATP American Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-2.
The Austrian defeated countryman Sebastian Ofner in the opening round and then dominated Shelton. He won consecutive tour-level matches for the first time since reaching the Antwerp semi-finals in October by crushing the American off both wings.
I prefer high bounces. Thiem stated in his on-court interview after his 63-minute triumph that the warm temperature was nice. “No wind. Fast, dry, and spin-friendly courts. I’m excited for tomorrow’s quarterfinals because it suits my game.
“I’m playing better. The early season results were lacking. Love this season. European clay-court season.”
The former World No. 3 will face fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut or Quentin Halys in the final eight to extend his journey. If he reaches the Estoril semi-finals, Thiem will return to the Top 100.
Thiem hopes Thursday’s triumph improves his 3-8 record for the year. The 2018 and 2019 Roland Garros finalist Austrian excels on clay. He has 10 tour-level surface titles.
Shelton made his clay tour debut this week. The 20-year-old, No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, had a great start to the season, reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Shelton “came up so far last year and this year with amazing achievements,” Thiem added. Only his second clay court match. I respected his serve and athleticism before the match. I used my clay-court experience today since the balls are coming quickly.
Bernabe Zapata Miralles defeated second seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday. Zapata Miralles won his second Top 20 match after defeating Taylor Fritz at Roland Garros last year.
Hurkacz missed his 27th tour-level quarter-final and third on clay after reaching the last eight in Monte Carlo and Madrid last season.
After defeating Jurij Rodionov 6-0, 6-1, Miomir Kecmanovic will face Zapata Miralles in the quarterfinals.
The sixth seed dominated the 64-minute clay-court match, dragging the World No. 120 around with his explosive shotmaking to reach his third quarterfinal of the season. Kecmanovic won his first two Estoril matches, including a straight-sets triumph over Luca Nardi.