Home favorite and top seed Dominic Thiem beat Fernando Verdasco for the first time to reach the Vienna Open quarterfinals on Thursday. Thiem, this year's French Open runner-up, had a rocky start as Verdasco broke in the first game of the match before taking the opening set 6-3. However, the match changed completely in the second set as the Austrian took control. He did not lose a point on his serve and created four break points of his own, converting one to level the contest. Thiem raced into a 4-0 lead in the third set and took the match 3-6, 6-,3 6-2, as he ended a run of four straight losses to the Spaniard. "I played against him in Rio, Rome, Paris and Wimbledon. But never with this incredible support like here," said Thiem, who will face Verdasco's compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta in the last eight on Friday. "In the first set, everyone saw that I had never won against him, that's why I was struggling. But the good service games gave me more confidence and that made me even better against his serve." Argentina's Diego Schwartzman, seeded fifth, also clinched a quarter-final spot, beating Sam Querrey 6-7(7-5), 6-4, 7-6(7-5), despite the American's 23 aces. Schwartzman will next face second seed Karen Khachanov. Auger-Aliassim pulls out of Next Gen event Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime said on Thursday that he has been forced to withdraw from the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan next month after injuring his ankle and would look to return in time for the Davis Cup Finals. The 19-year-old withdrew from this week's Vienna Open after injuring his left ankle during a practice session on Tuesday. "After talking with my team and doctors, we concluded that I wouldn't be able to compete in the last two tournaments of the season," the teenager said on Instagram. "I'm sorry I can't take part (in) the Rolex Paris Masters and the Next Gen ATP finals in Milan... I'm planning to be fit and ready for the Davis Cup finals in November." The Next Gen Finals is the season-ending tournament for the best players aged 21 and under and Auger-Aliassime had qualified for the tournament earlier this month. Canada are in Group F alongside the United States and Italy at the Davis Cup Finals, which begins on Nov. 18. — Reuters
