Luca Nardi comes close to achieving a feat but Dominic Thiem wins

Luca Nardi comes close but Dominic Thiem wins

Luca Nardi came close to pulling off a feat against Dominic Thiem in the first round of the Antwerp ATP 250. The Italian, in fact, è surrendered only in the third set after a battle of nearly two and a half hours of play that saw the Austrian, former world No. 3, prevail 3-6 7-6 6-2.

In the first set è the Marche tennis player who broke the balance in the sixth game, getting the decisive break to win the first partial, which closed 6-3 in his favor. In the second set è again Nardi to get ahead by a break (3-2), but Thiem’s reaction è immediate (3-3). It proceeded 'on serve' until the tie-break: the Austrian went up 6-3 but the Italian got him back on 6-6; the fifth set point forò è was the good one for Thiem who closed 9-7. The third partial sees Luca collapse, who in a moment finds himself down 0-4. Thiem just had to administer the lead, closing 6-2 at the first match-point. 

Nardi, the only Italian in the main draw of the European Open, must say goodbye to the Belgian tournament, while Thiem will face German Yannick Hanfmann in the second round.