World No. 3 makes most of cold conditions to beat Cilic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in Rd 1
Austria's Dominic Thiem returns to Croatia's Marin Cilic during Round 1 of the French Open at Roland Garros yesterday. Pics/Getty Images
US Open winner Dominic Thiem navigated a testing first-round French Open tie against former major champion Marin Cilic on Monday. Thiem, the runner-up to Nadal in Paris the past two years, defeated 2014 US Open champion Cilic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in their second encounter at a major this month. Having captured his maiden Slam in New York, Thiem is trying to become the only man in the Open era to win his first two majors at successive tournaments.
A steady display from Thiem saw the Austrian break Cilic six times under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier on another gloomy day at Roland Garros, pushed back from its customary May-June slot due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "I really love this tournament, it's by far my best Grand Slam tournament so far," said Thiem, who plays American qualifier Jack Sock in the second round.
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Croatian Marin Cilic
Smooth transition
"I'm really happy with my first round. The transition to the cold conditions and clay worked really well." He added: "I'm from Austria so I know how it is to play in these cold conditions. I love it when it's not too fast. I felt well from the first moment I came here."
Thiem admitted that he faces a stiff challenge to keep tennis high up in the public consciousness once Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic call it quits.
Thiem captured his maiden Slam title in New York with a breathtaking five-set win over Alexander Zverev earlier this month, the first major final in six years not to feature at least one of the Big Three.
However, US broadcaster ESPN said that ratings for that championship match were down 48%. Both Federer and Nadal opted not to play the US Open while Djokovic was disqualified in the Last 16.
"I think it's normal, because Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, they are like global superstars, and we are not yet. I guess we have to build it up like they did. I think there is a chance to do it, but it comes automatically with a lot of success," said Thiem.
'Interesting characters'
"That's our challenge to do. But I think that we are not going to have a problem, because for me, like the new generation, or also my generation, they are super-good characters, interesting characters, a lot of star potential there. The only thing we are missing is the huge success. I guess that there are less viewers or less interest if Roger, Rafa, and Novak are not there much. It's normal, because as I said, they are global superstars, and I hope we are on the way there."
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