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Former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem admitted he was "so happy" after beating Roberto Bautista Agut in Bastad as he is happy to finally be putting up a good run at an ATP event. On Thursday, Thiem defeated fourth-seeded Bautista Agut 7-6 (5) 3-6 6-4 to progress into the Bastad quarterfinal.
Prior to Bastad, Thiem was 0-6 on the main level in 2022. On Tuesday, Thiem defeated Emil Ruusuvuori for his first ATP victory in 14 months and that victory gave him the confidence for the Bautista Agut match. “It is great to play here,” Thiem said in his on-court interview, per the ATP website.
“It is an amazing atmosphere and I am so happy that I won today so I can have at least another match tomorrow. It was really good. The win against Emil gave me confidence that I can compete against the best players in the world and today against Roberto.
He is always such a tough opponent. I was expecting and hoping it would be a close match. Then when I won the first set in the tie-break I said ‘Hey, I can win today.’ I had the belief until the end of the match and the third set was really good”.
Thiem beat Bautista Agut in a three-set battle
Thiem recovered from a break down in the first set to force a tie-break, in which he realized his first set point to win a tight opener. Bautista Agut responded in the second set, breaking Thiem twice to send the match into a decider.
After losing the second set, Thiem claimed the lone break of the third set in the fifth game and then held on to his serve the rest of the match to complete a three-set win. “It is a process. I beat Ruusuvuori and today I beat Bautista Agut.
Two really top opponents, so if I can beat them I am definitely back,” Thiem added. “I am into the quarters of a really strong tournament, so I am happy. It is a process, but I am going the right way”. Thiem plays next either Sebastian Baez or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.