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Dominic Thiem advances, Grigor Dimitrov UPSET at Indian Wells

By Harry Floyd

INDIAN WELLS, CA - MARCH 10: Dominic Thiem of Austria reacts after winning a point against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during the BNP Paribas Open on March 10, 2018 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
INDIAN WELLS, CA - MARCH 10: Dominic Thiem of Austria reacts after winning a point against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during the BNP Paribas Open on March 10, 2018 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /
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Dominic Thiem wins his opener at the 2018 Indian Wells Masters. Grigor Dimitrov, however, drops his match against Fernando Verdasco.

Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem wins a hard-fought three set match at the 2018 Indian Wells Masters. He defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to advance at the Masters 1000 tournament. Up next is Pablo Cuevas for Thiem. The Austrian is the current world No. 6 in men’s singles tennis and the No. 5 seed at Indian Wells this month.

While Thiem is moving on at the ATP World Tour event, third seeded Grigor Dimitrov is seeing a different story unfold. The Bulgarian tennis star is the current ATP Finals champion and has high expectations for himself on the 2018 tour.

Dimitrov sees an unexpected opening result at the Indian Wells Masters. Coming in as the third seed, the Bulgarian was in need of a bounce back win. Last tournament, he splashed out of the opening round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. If he hopes to remain atop the rankings, Dimitrov needs to keep up paces with others such as Thiem.

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Fernando Verdasco defeats Grigor Dimitrov in three sets.

The opening round loss is a major disappointment for the current world No. 4 in men’s singles tennis. Other top seeds like Thiem advance at the Indian Wells Masters. A strong run at the ATP World Tour event could thrust the young Austrian even higher in the rankings. While Roger Federer, the top seed and defending champion, remains the favorite, players such as Thiem have the potential to go all the way at Indian Wells.

Next: Muguruza Upset At Indian Wells

Dominic Thiem already has one ATP singles title on the year. He took the title in Buenos Aires last month and is riding high off of his momentum right now. Look for the Austrian tennis star to be someone to watch moving forward at the Indian Wells Masters. Dimitrov, on the other hand, cannot have this happen in his next tournament. Two opening round losses for the Bulgarian tennis star is a major setback. He needs to regather himself and get back to doing what he does best in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to see how Federer, Thiem, and others fare throughout the rest of the 2018 Indian Wells Masters.

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