RIO DE JANEIRO — Nothing should faze Dominic Thiem in the week's Rio Open on clay.
He beat Rafael Nadal — the king of the surface — last week in the semifinals in Buenos Aires, and then won the event for his fourth clay-court title.
"Both things gave me a lot of confidence, but after the match with Nadal I wanted to give everything to win the tournament," Thiem said Tuesday after defeating Pablo Andujar of Spain 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Rio Open on clay.
"The win against Rafa would have been worth only half if I had lost the final.