In contrast, Dellien was flourishing on the front foot and opened up a 4-1 advantage. The Bolivian, qualifying for ATP events in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Estoril and Madrid this season, exemplified his clay-court prowess to tease the errors from Thiem’s racquet and steal and immediate break in set two.
Dellien was delivering the goods, running round to whip a lassoed forehand pass to cap another 4-1 lead. The world No.87 roared towards his team in delight and maintained his level and control on the contest to the very finish.
Key stats
Dellien’s variety caused Thiem a plethora of problems, including six successful drop shots and 10/12 success rate at the net.
The Bolivian also snatched away the initiative on his delivery, landing 80 per cent of first serves and denying Thiem any break points during the straight sets triumph.
It was an emphatic scoreline for the world No.87, who has wielded his racquet all season on the clay courts, impressing with a 32-14 record across all tiers, including qualifying.
For current world No.194 Thiem it’s back to the drawing board having lost his past 10 matches.