The Chengdu Open top seed Dominic Thiem has exited the event. Thiem, who had a first-round bye, fell short in his opener at the tournament. Argentina's Guido Pella handed a 7-6 (7-6) 6-4 loss to the Austrian.
Thiem opened the match on a good tale, having won the opening two games of the match. Pella stroke back, winning the next two games to tie it at 2-2. The Argentine then saved two break points in the following service game.
As no breaks of serve were seen, the set went into a tie-break. Thiem had a 3-0 tie-break lead before Pella took a 5-4 lead.
The No. 1 seed won the next two points to clinch a set point, which he didn't convert. The Argentine won three points in a row to seal a tough, lengthy opener.
Pella rode the momentum early on in the second set. The world No. 72 had a 2-0 lead and two consecutive break points to prolong his lead. However, the world No. 7 got a lucky break as he won the third game.
But, Pella stuck to his serve, as he made it to a 5-3 lead. Thiem managed to save two match points in the ninth game to remain alive. Pella then blew two consecutive match points on his serve -- Thiem got himself a break point chance -- before the Argentine won three points in a row to close out the game and the match.
Pella remains perfect against Thiem
Pella broke Thiem twice and saved 3-of-4 of the Austrian's break point chances at the Chengdu Open on Thursday. The No. 1 seed hit six aces and won 76 percent of his first serve points, but it wasn't enough. The match came to an end after an hour and 55 minutes.
Pella managed to get the win in what was an inconsistent match.
Pella now has two wins and zero losses against Thiem. Previously, the world No. 72 surprised the Austrian on the clay of Rio de Janeiro last year.
Pella plays next Fritz
Pella is set to meet promising American Taylor Fritz in the Chengdu Open quarter-finals. Fritz, 19, made it past world No. 59 Nikoloz Basilashvili on Thursday 6-3 3-6 6-1.
It was the first-ever meeting between the two.
Firtz, who had a 5-1 first-set lead, managed to close out the set in the ninth game. The American was bidding to book straight sets win, but Basilashvili resisted. The Georgian saved two break points early on in the second set before he took the decisive break of the second set in the sixth game.
But it all quickly fell apart for Basilashvili in the third set. The 25-year-old never recovered after blowing two game points in the second game of the decider. Fritz got off to a 5-0 lead and eventually comfortable sealed the win.
Pella and Fritz have no previous meetings. Pella will be hoping to continue his good campaign in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Fritz would love to edge Pella, who is a much more favorable matchup for him than Thiem.