Thiem battles past Donskoy in season-opener at Doha
Dominic Thiem started his season with a hard-fought 7-6(3) 6-3 victory over Evgeny Donskoy in the first round of the Qatar Open in Doha.
The world number 5 won a staggering 92 percent of his first serve points to hold off a battling Donskoy, who pushed the 24-year-old to the brink in the opening set, and regained control in the second set to charge to victory.
"It was a good victory because (of a) tough opponent... after a pretty long period without any matches," Thiem said. "After a good start, it got pretty close in the first set... at the end I'm satisfied with most parts of my game."