Thiem seriously tested

In the great lottery that is a Grand Slam draw, Dominic Thiem, last year’s runner-up and a genuine title contender in pedigree and form, opened his Roland-Garros campaign against Tommy Paul, a wildcard ranked 136 in the world - but an opponent who nevertheless can claim a historic superiority of sorts over the No.4 seed.

In 2011, Thiem reached the junior singles final in Paris but lost to Bjorn Fratangelo. In 2015, Paul also progressed to the boys' singles final, beating his compatriot Taylor Fritz to lift the title. At junior level, on Paris clay, among his own peers, the American was the more accomplished.

After two hours and 31 minutes on Monday, the fourth-seeded Thiem succeeded in fighting to achieve a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 first-round victory over the talented Paul, but it was a performance that did not come without cries of anguish and frustration from the Austrian.

Big-serving Americans who romp through service games to love are familiar figures on the Tour, but the 22-year-old from Greenville, North Carolina, takes pride in his ability to return well and in staying in rallies forcing opponents to hit tough balls. The thoroughly discomforted Thiem would second that. 

"It was definitely difficult, but I didn't expect an easy match at all," said Thiem. "I wasn't playing my best today, that's for sure. And we all could see what happens if I don't play my best tennis. He was playing amazing. It was very, very close."

After two hours of play on Court Suzanne-Lenglen – Thiem on his favourite playing stage in the world and introducing a new racquet designed to accentuate his control of the ball - faced a score that stood finely, frustratingly balanced at 6-4, 4-6, 6-6.

It was an inspired Paul who relentlessly took a tactically astute game to the Austrian, beautifully setting up points to effect a run of entertaining winners. In his toile-inspired Nike kit, Paul looked in the spirit to make his mark with Gallic flair.

With a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak, the American truly looked on course for an upset, but a prolonged Mexican wave at 4-2, when he was due to serve, proved to be an unsettling turning point. He lost the next three points and Thiem eventually served for a two-sets-to-one lead. "That was a key moment," agreed Thiem. The fourth set was a formality.

Experience won out. Junior status is never a reliable indicator of a player’s future career trajectory, and while Thiem has been seeded at every major he has contested since Wimbledon in 2015, Paul was making only his third career Grand Slam appearance, having fallen at the first hurdle in two previous outings (at the US Open in 2015 and as a wildcard in 2017).

In the decider, Thiem looked more like the player who has made back-to-back semi-finals here in 2016 and 2017 before breaking through to the final last year.

"I didn't play my best tennis and he really took advantage of that. He made it very tough for me out there. The most positive thing I am taking from the match today is the fourth set, because I freed myself. I played way faster, I made things way tougher for him. I moved him around way more. That's what I tried to build up on this fourth set. And of course [winning from] 0-4 in a breaker is nice for the confidence and for the fighting spirit."

Next up for Thiem, Alexander Bublik from Kazakhstan. But chapeau to Tommy Paul.