Dominic Thiem vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - ATP 500 - Vienna Open - Preview and Prediction

Vienna provides a gritty encounter tonight as World number 5, Dominic Thiem faces off against number 36, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the round of 32.

Key Insights

• Thiem has never made past the quarterfinals in eight previous attempts at the Vienna Open
• Tsonga has won 13 of his 18 titles on indoor-hard surfaces
• Tsonga won the Vienna Open in 2011
• Tsonga leads the head to head record 2-0 against Thiem
• Thiem lost to Tsonga in the quarters of the Vienna Open in 2013
  
  The Austrian has been in fantastic form in the Asian hard-court swing. He clinched the ATP 500- China Open title defeating big names such as Andy Murray, Karen Khachanov and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Things were going on fine in Shanghai until the in-form, Matteo Berrettini ousted him in the quarters.
  
  "The Prince of Clay" skipped three ATP-250 hard-court tournaments, Moscow Open, Antwerp Open, Stockholm Open. Playing in home conditions do make Thiem a strong competitor.
  
  On the other hand, Tsonga had to resort to playing challenger tournaments in order to uplift his ranking after undergoing knee surgery.
  
  In the recently concluded Antwerp Open, despite serving eight aces and a high win % of 76 on the first serve, the Frenchman lost 6-4 7-5 in the pre-quarterfinals to Gilles Simon.
   

Thiem has been the hallmark of consistency defeating the big three, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic this year. He would look to continue his good form ahead of big tournaments such as the Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals.

Tsonga will look to revive lost glory as he looks to get back to full-fledged tennis.

The fans can expect a brutal battle between Thiem's one-handed backhand and Tsonga's forehand.

Prediction - Dominic Thiem to win in three sets

Cover Image Credits - Getty Images