By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday July 12, 2022

 

Dominic Thiem edged Emil Ruusuvuori to snap a 10-match tour-level winning streak on Tuesday in Bastad.

Photo Source: AFP

Dominic Thiem was stuck on 309 career wins for an uncomfortably long period of time, but the Austrian has finally racked up his first win of 2022 – and first in 14 months.



Thiem defeated Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5), to book a second-round clash with fourth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.

For the 2020 US Open champion, the victory marked his first win in 346 days.

It has been a real struggle for the 28-year-old former World No.3. He suffered a wrist injury last June in Mallorca, and later picked up a hand injury during his rehabilitation. He missed a total of nine months before making his return to the challenger circuit in March.

Thiem entered the week with an 0-6 record on the ATP Tour – he had won one match on the challenger tour, last week in Salzburg.

“I didn't have a very good start and then I was fighting really good, but I had a really tough period with many losses, not many wins, so it was really difficult for me to to close out the match,” the current World No. 339 said after defeating Ruusuvuori, who double-faulted on match point. “Even though I played pretty good in second and third set – I'm happy with that – but I have to control the nerves a little bit better, especially when it got to the end.

“I was happy that he gave them to me with a double fault, I really needed that.”

Thiem’s last ATP win came last may in Rome, over Marton Fucsovics.

“It's a long time,” Thiem said. “Last victory on ATP Tour was Rome, 2021. It feels like a different world somehow. “Many, many things happened. It was tough, but it was also a very good experience, I think, for life in general, and for all my tennis and I'm so happy that I got this first victory here today.