Vienna Open 2022: Dominic Thiem vs. Tommy Paul Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Vienna Open as Dominic Thiem takes on Tommy Paul in the first round on Tuesday, October 25th, 2022.

Dominic Thiem is returning to the Vienna Open for the 12th time as he looks to build on from his terrific run in Antwerp. However, the Austrian faces a major challenge in the form of Tommy Paul right out of the bat. Can Thiem survive?

Dominic Thiem is a former champion at the Vienna Open and he has not lost a first-round match here since 2015. Recent form suggests Thiem should not be taken lightly when he takes on Tommy Paul in their mouthwatering opening match. The Austrian power-hitting machine is 12-5 on indoor hard courts so far in 2022, advancing into the semifinals in each of his two tournaments. He was extremely unfortunate not to make the finals of Antwerp having led Sebastian Korda by a break in the third set of their epic semifinal before losing in a tense final-set tiebreak.

Tommy Paul, for his part, saw his title defense at the StockholmOpen come to a crashing halt. The American produced a flat performance and was overpowered by the home favorite Mikael Ymer in the second round. Defeat is likely to cost Paul a place in the world’s top 30 and unless he can end the season in a flourish, he is likely to be overtaken in that regard. Paul could subsequently miss out on a seeding spot at next year’s Australian Open. How will he fare on his Vienna Open debut?

Dominic Thiem leads Tommy Paul 1-0 in their head-to-head. That meeting took place at the 2019 French Open in a highly-competitive first-round match which Thiem won in four sets. I do expect an improved performance from the American at the Vienna Open, but Thiem has shown a lot of mental fortitude and is growing in confidence with each tournament. It will be Thiem’s 18th match since the start of September – the most in his two-month time frame this year. However, assuming he is not heavy-legged, he could be difficult to stop this week.