Thiem survives second-set blip to reach Indian Wells third round

To kick off a loaded Saturday schedule, Dominic Thiem beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to the third round at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Thiem looked like he was going to absolutely steamroll the 19-year-old, as he needed only 30 minutes to cruise to a first-set victory. Tsitsipas did, however, make things interesting, by winning the second set 6-3. The Austrian was able to recover in the third, saving himself from suffering an early exit.

Thiem has now improved to 7-4 in singles in his career at Indian Wells. If he is going to improve that record then he will need to continue to serve well. Thiem connected on only 59 percent of his first-serve chances, but he won 82 percent of those points.

The Austrian is extremely dangerous when he is serving that well, which is why it's so important that he finds more consistency with that first-strike shot moving forward.

Highlights from Thiem's title in Buenos Aires:

Thiem is a player that people will be watching extremely closely over the new few weeks. The 24-year-old made it to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells a year ago, and he's a player that many are expecting to have a big summer. The slow hard courts in Indian Wells are perfectly suited for his one-handed backhand game.

One issue for Thiem is that he faces a tricky draw. He'll face Pablo Cuevas in the third round, and could take on either Tomas Berdych or Hyeon Chung after that.

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