Thiem rallies against Kudla, reaches Australian Open 3rd round

Dominic Thiem of Austria, ranked and seeded No.5, on Thursday booked a place in the third round of the Australian Open after a hard-fought win over Denis Kudla of the United States 6-7 (6-8), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

It took the 24 year-old Thiem nearly four hours to come back from two sets down to prevail over Kudla, the World No.176, reports Efe.

"It's only the second time in my career that I've turned it around from 0-2 sets and, especially in this very hot weather, it was tough. But it was still nice to play with a great crowd. And of course, I'm more than happy to be in the third round again," Thiem said.

The two-time Roland Garros semifinalist had to dig deep to reach the third round for the third time in his career, blasting 57 winners compared to Kudla's 51.

"I served very well in the first round but Denis, he just played extraordinary. I think he's full of confidence -- he's won four matches already. And then especially when he was one, two sets up: it was very tough to turn it around," Thiem added.

Thiem is scheduled to next face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, world No. 27, who defeated Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 6-3.

--IANS

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