"Great to see Dominic Thiem playing at such level again" - Daniil Medvedev after thrilling win over the Austrian in Vienna

Daniil Medvedev triumphed over familiar foe Dominic Thiem in a much-anticipated encounter on Thursday to secure a quarterfinal berth at the 2022 Vienna Open. Medvedev registered an immaculate 6-3, 6-3 win over the acclaimed Austrian, who is still seeking to reclaim his best form after recurring run-ins with injuries over the past year.

A severe wrist injury in June last year forced Thiem to call time on his season prematurely. After a prolonged hiatus, the 2020 US Open champion returned to action earlier this year and has since adopted a busy schedule to hasten his recovery.

The Austrian came into his home tournament in Vienna after an encouraging semi-final finish in Antwerp last week. Top seed Daniil Medvedev, however, displayed a solid serving performance in the second round to level the head-to-head at 3-3.

Nevertheless, the Russian took to Twitter to laud his long-time rival on the thrilling contest, commending him for his ever-burgeoning form.

"Very tough match today. Great to see Dominic Thiem playing at such level again. Never easy to play him. Happy with the win today. On to the quarters," the former World No. 1 tweeted.

The duo last faced each other in the finals of the 2020 season-ending championships, where Daniil Medvedev prevailed in three tight sets. The 2021 US Open champion will now be hoping to clinch a win over Italy's Jannik Sinner on Friday to strengthen his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin.

Daniil Medvedev looking to join Alcaraz, Nadal at the 2022 ATP Finals

Daniil Medvedev won the 2020 Nitto ATP World Tour Finals

Daniil Medvedev, who has made the finals of the season-ending championships in its last two editions, is treading the qualification cut closely in the Race to Turin. A title this week will help him clinch one of the three remaining spots at the 2022 ATP Tour Finals.

Others slated to compete in Turin include Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. Defending champion Alexander Zverev is nursing an ankle injury he sustained at Roland Garros and will not feature in the 2022 edition.

Andrey Rublev is also fancying his qualification chances, but a second-round loss against Grigor Dimitrov in Vienna seems to have played spoilsport. He will now be hoping that the final in Basel this week does not feature Felix Auger-Aliasimme, who is catching up with the Russian on the Race to Turin leaderboard.

Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz are others closely competing for the remaining qualification spots for the ATP Finals.

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