Andrey Rublev defeats Dominic Thiem in Melbourne Opener
Rublev awaits either Emil Ruusuvuori or Australian qualfiier Max Purcell in the second round.
World number 3 Dominic Thiem defeated Filip Krajinovic 4-3 (7-2), 2-4, 4-2 to win the first leg of Adria Tour tennis tournament held in Serbia.
In the final match of the tournament played on Sunday, Thiem had a hard time with Krajinovic in the first set but managed to win it after a tie-break, reports Xinhua news agency.
Krajinovic, currently ranked 32nd in the world, surprised Thiem with a 3-1 lead in the second, and set the score even. However, his opponent showed more strength in the third set and marked a 2-1 victory.
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The regional charity tennis tournament was staged here for two days from June 13-14 under a round robin system, in the organisation of the world’s top tennis player Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic missed the finals as he suffered a 1-2 defeat yesterday by Krajinovic and ended up as the second in the group, ahead of Alexander Zverev and Viktor Troicki.
Thiem’s road to finals led across Damir Dzumhur (2-0), Dusan Lajovic (2-1) and Grigor Dimitrov (2-0).
The second leg of the Adria Tour will be held in Zadar, Croatia, on June 20-21, while the conclusion will take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina in early July.
Although a leg was also scheduled to take place in Podgorica, Montenegro, it was cancelled on Saturday due to coronavirus protocol rules for entering that country.
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