Top
Thiem ATP Finals 2020

‘In general, I am very happy,’ says Dominic Thiem after strong Australian Open start


Dominic Thiem described himself as ‘very happy’ to come through his Australian Open first round match against Mikhail Kukushkin.

The US Open champion, who reached the final in Melbourne a year ago, overcame Kukushkin in straight sets 7-6, 6-2, 6-3.

It wasn’t always as straightforward as the score suggested for Thiem though, with him having to save a set point early on.

However, once he got his nose in front, Thiem started to quickly go through the gears before finishing very strongly.

“It’s interesting because it’s the first time I’ve met him and there’s not too many I didn’t meet on tour,” said Thiem of Kukushkin.

“He’s very experienced and the first set was super-challenging.”

“But, in general, I’m very happy to be back and have success in the first round.”

Dominik Keopfer or Hugo Dellien await for Thiem in round two, with Nick Kyrgios a potential third-round opponent.


Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.