Thiem cruises into semis

Rio de Janeiro, Feb 25 : Second-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem cruised into the semi-fils of the Rio Open tennis championships with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Argenti’s Diego Schwartzman.

The 5-foot-7 Schwartzman on Friday held serve just three times in nine opportunities against Thiem, who relied on his powerful ground strokes to control the action on the red clay at the Jockey Club Brasileiro.

With the win, Thiem remained on course for his eighth career title and sixth on clay; the eighth-ranked Austrian will next take on fifth-seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, a 6-2, 6-3 winner Friday over Argentine qualifier Nicolas Kicker. IANS