PAP / EPA / ANDY RAIN / Pictured: Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem beat Kyle Edmund in the first round of the ATP clay tournament in Madrid without dropping a set. Jordanian Abudullah Shelbayh made a historic debut in the Masters 1000 event.
Dominic Thiem, runner-up at the 2017-18 ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, kicked off this year’s edition with a wild card. The Austrian rewarded the organizers for their confidence and did not let the opportunity slip away. In the first round he showed his big side and beat Kyle Edmund 6:4, 6:1.
“I love this ground, I have great memories here and I’ve played many great games here,” said Thiem, who will face fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. – I love her so much. He’s an elegant and incredible player – he said of the Greek.
Abdullah Shelbayh, 19, didn’t use the joker, but he still made history. He became the first Jordanian in history to play in a Masters 1000 tournament. Pedro Cachin proved too strong for him on Thursday. The Argentinian will fight in the second round with his compatriot marked “24” Francisco Cerundolo.
Other Asians fared better. China’s Zhizhen Zhang beat qualifier Yuri Rodionov and will face No. 21 seed Denis Shapovalov in the 1/32 finals. In turn, the Japanese Yosuke Watanuki, player of the qualifications, proved to be better than Corentin Moutet and will face Cameron Norrie, the “11” of the tournament, for a promotion in the third round.
The ninth seed Frances Tiafoe will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who defeated Adrian Mannarino, for the opener. In turn, the first rival marked “27” Miomir Kecmanovic will be Cristian Garin. The Chilean defeated Mark-Andrea Huesler 7-6(5), 6-2.
Qualifiers from Russia also qualified for the second round. Alexander Shevchenko has dominated JJ Wolf and his next opponent will be 31st seed Jiri Lehecka. Roman Safiullin needed three sets to face Nicolas Jarry and have the opportunity to play the 1/32 finals with the marked “14” Tommy Paul.
Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid (Spain)
ATP Masters 1000, clay, €7.705 million prize pool
Thursday April 27
1st singles round:
Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Argentina) – Adrian Mannarino (France) 6-4, 6-0
Cristian Garin (Chile) – Marc-Andrea Huesler (Switzerland) 7-6(5), 6-2
Zhizhen Zhang (China) bt Yuri Rodionov (Austria, Q) 7-6(6), 6-4
Pedro Cachin (Argentina) v Abdullah Shelbayh (Jordan, WC) 6-1, 6-4
Yosuke Watanuki (Japan, Q) – Corentin Moutet (France) 6-3, 6-3
Alexander Shevchenko (Q) – Jeffrey John Wolf (USA) 6-4, 6-4
Roman Safiullin (Q) – Nicolas Jarry (Chile) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Dominic Thiem (Austria, WC) v Kyle Edmund (UK) 6-4, 6-1
free prizes: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, 1); Daniil Medvedev (2); Casper Ruud (Norway, 3); Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece, 4); Andrei Rublev (5); Holger Rune (Denmark, 6); Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada, 7); Taylor Fritz (USA, 8); Frances Tiafoe (USA, 9); Karen Khachanov (10); Cameron Norrie (UK, 11); Hubert Hurkacz (Poland, 12); Alexander Zverev (Germany, 13); Tommy Paul (USA, 14); Lorenzo Musetti (Italy, 15); Alex de Minaur (Australia, 16); Borna Coric (Croatia, 17); Pablo Carreno (Spain, 18); Daniel Evans (UK, 19); Roberto Bautista (Spain, 20); Denis Shapovalov (Canada, 21); Sebastian Korda (USA, 22); Botic van de Zandschulp (Netherlands, 23); Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina, 24); Sebastian Baez (Argentina, 25); Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria, 26); Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia, 27); Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan, 28); Alejandro Davidovitch Fokina (Spain, 29); Tallon Griekspoor (Netherlands, 30); Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic, 31); Ben Shelton (USA, 32)
Schedule and results of the men’s tournament
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