Kitzbuhel Open 2022: Dominic Thiem vs. Richard Gasquet Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Kitzbuhel Open as Dominic Thiem takes on Richard Gasquet in the Round of 32 on Tuesday, July 26th, 2022.

Will Dominic Thiem get the win? Will Richard Gasquet pull off the upset? This will be a fascinating one, where we have two of the greatest one handed backhands of all time clashing against each other. Who will triumph and move on to the Round of 16 at the 2022 Kitzbuhel Open?

Dominic Thiem has had quite the resurgence in the last couple of weeks, garnering a lot of attention. He’s won 5 matches in total in the last 2 tournaments, losing to some great players, let alone Matteo Berrettini, one of the best players in the world. Everything has been looking up for Thiem, especially his forehand and shot selection, really helping him start to find his range. His backhand has been simply short of unbelievable though, so it’ll be quite the interesting scenario as he faces Richard Gasquet, similarly revered for his one handed backhand, with the level he’s been showing, I expect Thiem to take down Gasquet, but it won’t be the easiest of matches as he aims to move through to the Round of 16 at the 2022 Kitzbuhel Open.

Richard Gasquet is most certainly in the twilight of his career, and while he’s been having some spurts of genius in the last couple of seasons, it’s difficult for him to maintain a very high level, let alone against the best of players. While Dominic Thiem obviously isn’t at his prime level, he’s improving almost every time he steps out onto a tennis court. In order for Gasquet to beat him, he’ll have to be able to defend very well, on top of being able to utilize his backhand to put Thiem in some precarious positions, unfortunately for the Frenchman though, I don’t see him being able to battle past the Austrian star who’s playing at home here at the 2022 Kitzbuhel Open.

Dominic Thiem and Richard Gasquet have met 3 times before, with Richard Gasquet leading the head to head 2-1. They met in 2015, 2017, and in 2019. As I’m sure you could surmise, Gasquet won the first 2, while Thiem took the 3rd. Gasquet had a great season in 2015, while Thiem was still quite young and not really the player we’ve come to know today. In 2017, Gasquet managed to win in 3, albeit against a more successful Thiem. In 2019, there was an expected blowout from the racquet of Thiem. In this case, with both players being strong clay courters, but Thiem only getting better and Gasquet’s level remaining rather stagnant, I expect him to grab an all important win at home for a place in the last 16 at the 2022 Kitzbuhel Open.