Thiem survives scare to advance in last-16 of Rio Open

Rio de Janeiro, Feb 19 (IANS) Top seed Dominic Thiem progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the Rio Open after defeating Brazilian wild card Felipe Meligeni in a three-set thriller.The Austrian on Tuesday recovered from a second-set lapse to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in two hours and four minutes on the outdoor clay of the Jockey Club Brasileiro.Awaiting Thiem in the next round is Spaniard Jaume Munar, who moved past Italian Salvatore Caruso 7-5, 6-4. Thiem leads their head to head series 2-0, with both wins coming in straight sets on the clay of Barcelona.Second seed Dusan Lajovic overcame a tricky test against Italian Marco Cecchinato to prevail 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-1 in two hours and 16 minutes. On Wednesday, the Serb will face another Italian, Lorenzo Sonego, who beat Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 5-7, 6-5.Croatian fifth seed Borna Coric held off a late surge from Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero to advance 7-6(5), 7-5. Others who advanced included Hungary's Attila Balazs, Portugal's Joao Domingues and Italian Gianluca Mager.
--IANS aak/sdr/