Former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem battled to a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) first-round victory against Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland at the Nordea Open on Tuesday.
It was the Austrian’s first tour-level win for 14 months, nine of which the 2020 U.S. Open champion spent out of action due to a wrist injury.
“It’s a long time. My last victory was in Rome in 2021, it feels like a different world somehow. Many, many things happened. It was tough, but it was also a very good experience, I think, for life in general. I’m so happy that I got this first victory here today," said Thiem in his on-court interview.
Thiem was under pressure early against the World No. 43 Ruusuvuori in the pair’s first ATP head-to-head meeting. The Finn raced to an unassailable 5-1 lead in the opening set, but Thiem raised his level to roar back into contention by reeling off five games in a row in the second set to level proceedings.
Despite some nervous moments in the deciding-set tie-break, Thiem stayed solid to clinch just his second win at any level in 2022 having saved eight from 12 break points against the clean-hitting Finn.
“It was a very difficult match. I didn’t have a very good start and then I fought really well, but I had a really tough period with many losses and not many wins, so it was really difficult for me to close out the match. Even though I played pretty good in the second and third sets. I have to control the nerves a little bit better, especially when it gets to the end," he said.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami with his supporters after being elected as interim General Secretary of the party, during the general council meeting of AIADMK, in Chennai (PTI Photo)
AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami with his supporters after being elected as interim General Secretary of the party, during the general council meeting of AIADMK, in Chennai (PTI Photo)
The majestic march of AIADMK former head honcho, O. Panneerselvam, into the party headquarters with his stormtroopers clearing the way for him and the exulting triumph over him by his hitherto joint commander-in-chief, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, 15 km away at the party’s general council meeting were both spectacles that had much ado about nothing, at least for the common man. That Mr Palaniswami effectively trumped Mr Panneerselvam or that Mr Panneerselvam, through clever stratagem, captured the seat of power effortlessly were nothing by pyrrhic victories that did not help either of them score any political brownie points or increase their popular support.
At the end of the protracted struggle for supremacy and total control of the party that should be celebrating its golden jubilee in a few months from now, Mr Palaniswami emerged as a shrewd manipulator who could herd men and women and Mr Panneerselvam as a ring leader who could organise men to do his bidding. Beyond that they displayed no political acumen to either wow the people of the state or earn encomiums from academic observers. The split between the former twins, who journeyed through the turbulent days after the demise of J. Jayalalithaa and the incarceration of V.K. Sasikala in 2017 hand in hand, sharing leadership position
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