Birthday boy Thiem dominates Nagal to breeze into U.S. Open third round

September 3, 2020

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Sep 3, 2020; Flushing Meadows, New York, USA; Dominic Thiem of Austria hits a volley against Sumit Nagal of India (not pictured) on day four of the 2020 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Second seed Dominic Thiem celebrated his 27th birthday with a commanding 6-3 6-3 6-2 victory over India’s Sumit Nagal on Thursday to move into the third round of the U.S. Open.

Austrian Thiem, seeking his maiden Grand Slam title, won an overwhelming 74% of his first serve points and fired seven aces past the inexperienced Nagal, breaking him seven times in the two-hour contest.

Sep 3, 2020; Flushing Meadows, New York, USA; Sumit Nagal of India serves against Dominic Thiem of Austria (not pictured) on day four of the 2020 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

Nagal became on Tuesday the first Indian in seven years to win a singles match at Flushing Meadows but the 23-year-old showed only flashes of brilliance in a one-sided clash at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Up next for Thiem, who was runner-up at the Australian Open this year, is 2014 champion Marin Cilic of Croatia who beat Slovakia’s Norbert Gombos 6-3 1-6 7-6(2) 7-5.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)