Holger Rune has made a fashion statement in Monte Carlo. Can he make one with his racquet, against Jannik Sinner?

Second seed Dominic Thiem did not face a break point en route to advancing past Cristian Garin, 6-3, 6-2, on Thursday at the Erste Bank Open. Later, Grigor Dimitrov battled past Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets.

Published Oct 29, 2020

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After a topsy-turvy title defense opener, a different Dominic Thiem showed up Thursday night in Vienna. The second-seeded home favorite needed just 66 minutes to sweep past Cristian Garin, 6-3, 6-2, setting up an enticing quarterfinal with No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev.

Two days earlier, Thiem wasted break advantages in both of his sets with Vitaliy Sachko, and though he advanced, 6-4, 7-5, the Austrian dropped serve four times to the world No. 529. Against Garin, Thiem struck eight aces and did not face a break point. Garin struggled to find his range, finishing with a -15 differential (9 winners to 24 unforced errors).

Thiem rolls at home, gets Rublev in Vienna quarters; Medvedev moves on

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Thiem holds a 2-1 advantage over Rublev, with one of his victories coming at this ATP 500 event in 2017. Rublev, who won their latest clash at Hamburg last season, played just three games when Jannik Sinner retired with a foot injury. The 23-year-old Russian, now 36-7 on the year, can add points to his race to London total by reaching the semifinals. Rublev began the week holding the eight position in the chase towards the ATP Finals, though with Roger Federer out for the year, is currently seventh and next in line to qualify.

Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev avenged February’s Rotterdam defeat to Vasek Pospisil, which also occurred on indoor hard, by rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. The 2019 US Open finalist capitalized on both of his break point chances in the deciding set o prevail in one hour and 58 minutes. Kevin Anderson awaits Medvedev in the quarterfinals.

“It was really tough. Vasek was playing some unbelievable tennis till a sudden moment,” Medvedev said on court afterwards. “I'm really happy he didn't manage to finish the match that way and played a little bit worse. I took my chances. I'm really happy about it.”

Medvedev vs. Pospisil highlights

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Grigor Dimitrov wrapped up Thursday’s winners by overcoming No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3, to return the favor after the Greek won their first meeting at Roland Garros earlier this month.

Dimitrov led 5-3 in the first set tiebreaker, but while at the net, unsuccessfully lunged for a Tstisipas forehand that appeared on its way out. Though he saw the set slip away, Dimitrov regrouped by breaking Tsitsipas three times over the next two sets to confirm a last-eight meeting with Dan Evans. Earlier in the day, Evans defeated wild card Jurij Rodionov, 7-5, 6-3.

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