Thiem time at Melbourne Park as third seed eases through

Thursday, 11 February 2021 00:29 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Austria's Dominic Thiem celebrates after winning his second round match against Germany's Dominik Koepfer - Reuters

MELBOURNE (Reuters): US Open champion Dominic Thiem kept his time in the Melbourne sun to an absolute minimum on Wednesday, taking 93 minutes to beat Dominik Koepfer 6-4 6-0 6-2 and secure his place in the third round of the Australian Open.

The Austrian third seed had to tough it out at times in the opening set but took full control after that as his German opponent appeared to struggle in temperatures touching 30 degrees Celsius on Margaret Court Arena.

Thiem lost to Novak Djokovic in the Melbourne Park final last year and would have been hoping to conserve energy in the early rounds this week as he looks to dethrone the Serbian and clinch his second Grand Slam crown.

The 27-year-old booked a third-round date with the winner of the later contest between Nick Kyrgios and Ugo Humbert when Koepfer went wide with a forehand for his 38th unforced error.