Impressive Thiem races into Hamburg quarter-finals

Austria’s Dominic Thiem reacts during the 2018 French Open final against Spain’s Rafael Nadal (REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo)
Austria’s Dominic Thiem reacts during the 2018 French Open final against Spain’s Rafael Nadal (REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo)

(Reuters) – Top seed Dominic Thiem eased past Australian John Millman 6-2 6-2 at the German Tennis Championships on Thursday to reach his 10th quarter-final of the season.

French Open finalist Thiem sprinted out of the blocks in glorious Hamburg sunshine, breaking Millman’s serve twice before serving out the opening set in 33 minutes.

The 24-year-old Austrian carried that momentum throughout the second set, converting a further two break points on his way to a comfortable victory.

Thiem extended his match win record to 38-11 for the season, which includes two claycourt titles in Buenos Aires and Lyon. He will next face Czech Nicolas Jarry for a place in the semi-finals.

Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta was leading 6-2 4-0 when his opponent Aljaz Bedene was forced to retire due to a hip injury.

Up next for the third seed is Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, who roared back from 1-6 down in the first set tiebreak to beat 2013 finalist Pablo Cuevas 7-6(6) 6-4.