(Reuters) – Second seed Dominic Thiem edged a first-set tiebreak before turning up the heat to romp into the U.S. Open quarter-finals with a resounding 7-6(4) 6-1 6-1 victory over Canadian youngster Felix Augur-Aliassime at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday.
Top seed Novak Djokovic’s disqualification on Sunday for striking a line judge with a ball has left Thiem as one of the favourites and the Austrian gave a composed performance to reach the last eight in New York for the second time in his career.
He was helped in his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title by a below-par performance from Augur-Aliassime, who beat Andy Murray in round two but was well off the pace against Thiem, making 51 unforced errors compared to the second seed’s 24.
Thiem won 74% of his first serve points and was near flawless at the net, while also sending down 22 winners as he wrapped up the contest in a shade over two hours.
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
