Second seeded Dominic Thiem has a change of opponent after the withdrawal of Kei Nishikori and will now take on Ukraine’s lucky loser Vitaliy Sachko in the first round of the 2020 Vienna Open. The match is to be played on October 27, with the exact day and time yet to be determined. Get the live streaming options of this Dominic Thiem v Vitaliy Sachko match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Dominic Thiem v Vitaliy Sachko Head to Head
There have been no previous matches between these two.
Also Read:
Home Favorite Thiem Begins Title Defense Amidst Loaded Draw
Dominic Thiem is both the home favorite and defending champion here in Vienna, having won the title last year against Diego Schwartzman in a tight final set in the championship match.
Two French Open final losses to Nadal in 2018 and 2019, as well as defeating Nadal on the clay courts of Barcelona, Madrid and Rome are all testament to the Austrian’s skills and abilities on clay. While Thiem has been known to be a clay specialist, his results in the last 12 months have shown him to be more than capable on the hard and indoor surfaces.
Titles in Beijing and Vienna to wrap up 2019, being a finalist at the ATP Tour Finals and Australian Open, topped by a first major title at the US Open last month have evidenced that Thiem is as good a contender as any for most titles, regardless of the surface.
While the Austrian has got the monkey off his back by finally breaking through as a new Grand Slam winner in a Big Three era, there will be the added pressure and expectation from him, as he will now be looked upon differently by many, having won a major. Some of this pressure and fatigue was clearly evident at the French Open, where he lost in the quarter-finals against Diego Schwartzman, attributing it to running on empty and not having much left in the tank for that grueling five- setter.
The number two seed this week has been handed a tricky draw, given the plethora of seasoned players in Vienna this time around, and will be looking for a strong run this week, to not only erase the recent French Open disappointment, but also set himself up well for the Paris Masters and ATP Tour Finals, as well as get closer to that number two ranking currently held by Rafael Nadal.
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Sachko Aiming to Be Competitive
Ukraine’s Sachko is currently ranked 529th in the world, his best ever ranking and he makes the main draw as a lucky loser following the withdrawal of Kei Nishikori. This is a huge shift from what he was doing all season – playing in Futures and Exhibition tournaments following on from his first and only Futures title win last year.
And while he might be a ‘lucky loser’, to a large extent he has made his own luck. After all, beating the former world number 36, Pierre Hugues-Herbert from being a set down is no mean feat and that’s exactly what he did in the first round of qualifiers.
In the second round too, Sachko had taken a set lead over Norbert Gambos but the latter then slowly took control of the match to complete a win and move into the main draw. That said, while Sachko was beaten, he rarely looked overawed in the encounter and while a a match against Dominic Thiem would be a bridge too far, a first taste of ATP main draw tennis should do him a world of good.
Can he be competitive enough across the two sets?
Thiem v Sachko Prediction and Tip
Looks like a straight-forward, straight-set win for Thiem with the latter at 1/7.
Tip: Thiem to win in straight sets: 1/7 (bet365)
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The Vienna Open 2020 will be played from October 25 to November 1. You can watch & bet on the Cologne Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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