Dominic Thiem will contest a final on the ATP tennis tour for the first time since November 22, 2020 on Saturday (1 p.m.). At that time it was the final of the ATP finals lost to Daniil Medvedev, this time he is playing for his second Kitzbühel title or the 18th of his career. In the semi-finals of the Generali Open on Friday, Thiem defeated the Serb Laslo Djere 6: 7 (3), 7: 5, 7: 6 (8) after an extremely strong performance and five match points saved. The opponent in the final is Sebastian Baez from Argentina.
Thiem started with a break against himself in the round of 16 against Zhang Zhizhen from China and in the quarterfinals against Arthur Rinderknech from France. It went better this time, with the serve up to the tie-break, but Djere acted in a much more calm manner. So Thiem gave the first sentence again. The Kitzbühler number five, who only lost to Alexander Zverev in the final last week in Hamburg, acted more solidly in set one, Thiem found his only two break chances with a 2-1 lead. In general, however, Djere was more on the trigger.
Excitement in the Kitzbühel semifinals
67 minutes for the first sentence signaled a certain balance, and the key continued. In a stadium that was sold out like on the previous two days, Thiem was now more involved. At 3: 4 he fended off a break in extremis with four points in a row, from then on he increasingly dictated what happened and at 5: 5 he caused the Serbs to break through a service game for the first time. Then Thiem served. His fans were over the moon and after a total of 2:12 hours they were looking forward to their “local hero” making their third decision in a row at this tournament.
The game had now reached a very high level. Djere tried his best to set the deciding blow. But Thiem also destroyed his break chances eight and nine in the third duel between the two. At 5: 6 from Thiem’s point of view, Djere earned three match balls, but Thiem destroyed them all with a lot of risk, precision and class. It was another tie break. Thiem fended off two more match points, also against Djere’s serve. After 3:30 hours, Thiem used his second match point and sank into a sea of jubilation.
Dominic Thiem speaks of a “special day”
“It was one of my best three-set matches I’ve ever played,” said Thiem on the pitch. “It was so tight. It was just incredible again.” There was no time for doubts because Djere also played really well. “It’s a very special day, my first final since my wrist injury. I couldn’t be happier to be home.” And to the audience: “I hope you all celebrate well and see you tomorrow.”
Baez had previously knocked out his top seeded compatriot Tomas Martin Etcheverry in 2:41 hours 7:6(5),3:6:4. “I was just looking from point to point,” said the 22-year-old. For him it’s about his third title on the tour, his second this year. Thiem is playing for his first title since his US Open triumph in 2020. In the head-to-head of the two it is 1-0 for Baez.
Tennis doubles semifinals suspended
After the two semi-finals were interrupted for about an hour and a half due to rain, the top seeded Alexander Erler/Lucas Miedler made it into the doubles final late in the evening. Against Sadio Doumbia/Fabien Reboul (FRA-3), the 2021 Kitzbühel winners celebrated a 7: 5, 7: 6 (11) victory in the rain. Erler/Miedler advanced 7:6(9),6:4 in the quarterfinals against Ariel Behar/Adam Pavlasek (URU/CZE). In the final on Saturday (2nd match after 1:00 p.m.) it is against Gonzalo Escobar/Aleksander Nedowjesow (ECU/KAZ-4).
(Those: APA)
2023-08-05 06:51:38
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