Dominic Thiem makes winning start at Moselle Open
Metz: Former finalist Dominic Thiem made a winning start at the Moselle Open on Monday, beating French underdog Matteo Martino 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round.
The former world number three, who reached her first title match in Metz in 2016, saved one break point and won 80 percent (28/35) of her first serve points to advance after 84 minutes.
Thiem has now won eight of his last nine first-round games at tour level, with his best result coming in the final in Kitzbühel in August. The Austrian will face France’s Hugo Humbert in search of his first title since the 2020 US Open.
Another former world number three, Stan Wawrinka is also celebrating an easy opening win in Metz. The eighth-seeded Swiss player defeated Bernabé Zapata Miralles 6-0, 6-2 in just 52 minutes and faces NextGen home favorite Luca Van Assch in the second round, who defeated Botique Van de Zandschulp 3-6, 6-2. Defeated by 2. Win with a score of 3, 7-6(5).
Wawrinka has converted five of the 10 break points he faced and hopes that will be the catalyst for a strong final week of his 2023 season. The 38-year-old is 27-22 overall this year, but before the Mets he had won only two of his last eight games. He now has a 5-2 record at French ATP 250 tournaments, where he reached the semi-finals a year ago.
Defending champion Lorenzo Sonego began a successful defense of his title by defeating American Marcos Giron 2:6, 6:3, 7:6(3).
The Italian, who has an 8-2 record on the ATP 250 hard-court circuit, found himself facing a tough challenge in a two-hour and 17-minute battle. Second round after winning the third set tiebreaker 3/2. Sonego will next face Jordanian qualifier Abdullah Shelby or Frenchman Hugo Gaston.
Constant Lesteen defeated Kelvin Emery 6–3, 6–2 and Alexander Shevchenko defeated Matthias Berg 6–4, 7–5.
–IANS
