Paris: Austrian Dominic Thiem advanced into the quarterfinals of the French Open defeating Hugo Gaston with 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday (October 4). “He’s got such a big touch in his hand, his drop shots are from another planet. I must have sprinted 400 times to the net,” said Thiem.
“If he continues like this he’s gonna be a huge player and give this stadium a lot of joy. I’m lucky I made it through today,” added Thiem, who will play Diego Schwartzman in the next round.
Gaston, who defeated former Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka in five sets in the previous round seemed to be enjoying himself. However, Thiem fought back and made his way to the quarterfinals ending it on the second match point after three hours and 32 minutes.
after a ton of dropshots I had to show @HugoGaston7 that I also got some touch today 😉 Great match! Keep it up! @rolandgarros #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/j7jmi128p5
— Dominic Thiem (@ThiemDomi) October 4, 2020
“I had my problems, I didn’t find great answers, and after a good start all of a sudden it was two sets all,” said Thiem. He, however, enjoyed the atmosphere where fans were screaming to support Gaston, world no.239.
“The stadium was far from full, but still it was a great atmosphere,” he said. A maximum of 1000 fans were allowed at the stadium, while the US open was played without any fan due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal, who defeated Sebastian Korda in the fourth round will face Italian teenager Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals. Sinner defeated world No.7 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Sinner became the first player to reach the Roland Garros quarterfinals on his tournament debut since Nadal in 2005.
