Zverev immediately responded after Otte made the first break of serve in the contest to trail 4-3 - but he failed to hold serve once more as his compatriot went on to take a surprise first set. Zverev, who won his second Madrid Open title earlier this month before losing to Nadal in the Italian Open quarter-finals, was able to avoid suffering the same fate as Thiem.īut he was made to work hard to do so against 27-year-old qualifier Otte, ranked 152 in the world. I didn't think I was in my best shape, but the belief was the key to the win today." Zverev avoids opening-round exit "It was very difficult, in the third set he wasn't quite as strong. "It's a very special moment because I'm 35 and I don't know how long I'm going to play," said Andujar, who will play Radu Albot or Federico Delbonis in the second round. Neither player could hold serve at the start of the deciding set, but Andujar consolidated another break to take a 4-2 lead and a stunned Thiem could not find a response.
Having broken Thiem's serve in the eighth game of the third set to end the Austrian's hopes of sealing a comfortable win, Andujar kickstarted a memorable comeback by racing into a 4-1 lead in the fourth. World number 68 Andujar, 35, turned professional in 2003 and, although he beat Roger Federer in Geneva earlier in May, this was his first victory over a player ranked in the ATP's top five. "Everything was just not the real me, or the version of me who is able to play for big titles."
Everything in my game there are some percentages missing. "I was not struggling at all with my motivation, but the game was just not there," said Thiem. Having lost to Nadal in the 20 finals in Paris, Thiem earned his first major title at the US Open last September but took two months away from the tour earlier this year to have a "small reset" because of the physical and emotional impact of winning a Grand Slam.īefore his opener at the French Open he had won only five matches in the past three months. Thiem's defeat leaves the bottom half of the men's singles draw especially open because the 'big three' of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are all in the other half. German world number six Alexander Zverev had to fight back from two sets down to beat compatriot Oscar Otte.Įlsewhere in the men's singles draw on Sunday, Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat France's Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-1 to move into the second round, where he will face either American Sebastian Korda or Pedro Martinez of Spain.Īnd British number one Dan Evans fell to a 1-6 6-3 6-3 6-4 defeat by Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic.
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