Wimbledon 2017: Dominic Thiem powers past Gilles Simon into third round

Reuters

London: Austrian eighth seed Dominic Thiem fought back from a set down to defeat Frenchman Gilles Simon 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-4 on Thursday and move into the Wimbledon third round for the first time.

Thiem, viewed as one of the talents that could, in time, push to enter the tennis elite, finished emphatically with an 135 mph ace, the last of three huge serves with which he closed out.

The 23-year-old reached the semi-finals of the French Open for the second straight year last month and has fourth-round appearances in the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

Although he has yet to replicate that clay and hard-court form on grass, his display against the experienced Simon will leave him confident of getting past American Jared Donaldson or Italian Paolo Lorenzi in the next round.