Though Dominic Thiem is widely regarded as the second best clay courter in the World at the moment, he is prone to occasional slip-ups (Ramkumar Ramanathan, Tennys Sandgren, Steve Johnson and Nikoloz Basilashvili, etc.) which is something that gives a glimmer of hope for the Spanish youngster.
Making his return from the ankle injury that he suffered at the Indian Wells last month, Dominic Thiem won two three-setters against Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic but suffered a humiliating defeat against Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinal of Monte Carlo Masters last week, 0-6 2-6.
The Austrian #1 has appeared here thrice in the past and finishing as the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2017 is his best result in this tournament.
Thiem’s recent two matches against the Spanish opponents did not go well as he was bageled by Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo (0-6 2-6) and Fernando Verdasco in Rio de Janeiro (4-6 0-6).
Regardless of such occasional setbacks and the ankle injury, it’s been an excellent start to the season for the World #7, who won the title at Buenos Aires (clay), made the semifinal at Doha (hard), and quarterfinal at Rio de Janeiro (clay), Acapulco (hard) and Monte Carlo (clay).
Making his fourth appearance at Barcelona, Jaume Munar Clar registered his first main draw win in this tournament with a stunning performance against the Portuguese #1, Joao Sousa, on Tuesday, 6-4 3-6 7-5.
It was only the 20-year-old Spaniard’s second main draw win in ATP World Tour event, with the previous success coming against Guillermo Garcia Lopez in 2015 at Hamburg (retired after three games), where he lost the second round match to Simone Bolelli in a three-setter.
After failing to win back-to-back matches in seven tournaments during February and March, the 2014 Junior French Open runner-up won three matches and made the semifinal at Barletta Challenger two weeks back, and he will be hoping to keep the run going by claiming the biggest win of his career.
Tennis Prediction: Dominic Thiem 2-0 SET
Odds: 1.45
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