Second-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem advanced to the semifinal of the ATP Rio Open for the second straight year on Friday with a convincing 6-2, 6-3 victory over Argentina's Diego Schwartzman in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Thiem won 11 of the first 13 games to put Schwartzman on the ropes before the latter rallied by breaking the former twice in a three-game stretch. Thiem regained his composure and hit an impressive passing shot that brought the crowd to its feet on his way toward ending the match after 1 hour, 15 minutes.