Former Madrid Masters finalist Dominic Thiem used his invitation to Caja Magica nicely. The Austrian toppled Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-1 in an hour and 22 minutes for a place in the second round, setting the clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas. Dominic dominated with his first serve and defended all four break chances to keep the pressure on the other side. Seeking his form and mixing the lower-ranked events with ATP tournaments, Kyle could not follow the rival’s pace after the opener. The Briton gave away half of the points in his games on the fast clay and got broken four times from seven chances offered to his opponent. Edmund stayed in touch until 4-4 in the opener before dropping serve in four of his last five service games to end his campaign in the first round. Thiem tamed his strokes nicely and fired 16 winners and 17 unforced errors.
Dominic Thiem defeated Kyle Edmund in straight sets.
Edmund landed eight direct points and sprayed 30 mistakes, mostly from his forehand. Dominic built the advantage in the shortest and mid-range exchanges to forge a much-needed triumph and gain a boost ahead of a more formidable opponent. The Briton held after deuce in the encounter’s first game and repeated that at 1- to remain on the positive side. Thiem fired two winners and denied two break points in the sixth game before Edmund held in the next one with an ace. Dominic stepped in on the return in the ninth game and created break chances with a forehand winner.
He seized the first after Kyle’s forehand error to build the advantage. The Austrian served for the set at 5-4 and cracked a forehand crosscourt winner for 6-4 and a boost. The Briton fended off a break chance at the start of the second set with a service winner but could not stay in touch for too long. Edmund hit a double fault at 1-1 to lose serve at love and mark his downfall. The Austrian denied two break points in the fourth game with winners and held for 3-1. Kyle sprayed a forehand error in the fifth game to experience another break and find himself 4-1 down. Thiem held at love in game six for 5-1 and created two match points on the return in the next one. The Briton hit a double fault to experience the third match point, and the Austrian seized it to advance into the second round.