NO REST FOR THE WEARY AS THIEM HEADS TO ROLAND GARROS AFTER WINNING NICE AND HIS FIRST ATP TITLE BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 24th May 2015

NO REST FOR THE WEARY AS THIEM HEADS TO ROLAND GARROS AFTER WINNING NICE AND HIS FIRST ATP TITLE BY RICKY DIMON

epa04747926 Dominic Thiem of Austria reacts during his third round match against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland of the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 14 May 2015. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO |

Dominic Thiem captured the first ATP title of his budding career on Saturday, beating Leonardo Mayer 6-7(8), 7-5, 7-6(2) in the final of the Open de Nice Cote d’Azur. A high-quality showdown lasted two hours and 28 minutes and featured only one break of serve. The two competitors combined to save 15 of 16 break points (Thiem saved six of six, Mayer fought off nine of 10).

The lone service break came when Thiem struck at 6-5 in the second set to force a dramatic third. Mayer saved two break points to hold for 2-2, Thiem survived a deuce for 3-2, and then both men held easily on the way to a decisive tiebreaker. The Austrian seized a mini-break at 1-1, won four of the first five points, and never looked back.

“It’s really, really special,” Thiem assured. “[My] first title ever. It’s not only this. The match today was a really, really good level. Leonardo played outstanding and I was fighting until the end. I think it was one of the best matches I’ve ever played. The first title…I will remember it forever.”

“First #ATP title for #Thiem! @domithiem needed two hours and 48 minutes to beat #Mayer for the #Nice crown. #tennis” – Photo by @atpworldtour via Instagram.

But he will have to forget it momentarily and focus on what’s immediately ahead of him: the season’s second Grand Slam at Roland Garros. Thiem landed in the bottom half of the draw, which means he has to play on Monday instead of Tuesday. Thus he will have just about 48 hours of rest.

Up first for Thiem is a second meeting with Bedene, who cooled off just a bit after reaching the Chennai final as a qualifier. The Slovenian-turned-Brit has regained some momentum with a quarterfinal performance in Casablanca (also as a qualifier) and a Challenger title earlier this month in Rome. Bedene won their only previous encounter 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on the hard courts of a Challenger in Irving, Texas, but that was back when Thiem was struggling to get his 2015 campaign off the ground. The world No. 75 has not defeated anyone else ranked better than 59th since Chennai.

Will fatigue be the difference for Thiem, helping Bedene pull off an upset? Or will momentum rule the day? It could be the latter, because momentum is something Thiem has plenty of at the moment. He has climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 31 in the world thanks to 16 match victories at the ATP level already this season. Prior to winning Nice, Thiem advanced two rounds in both Munich and Rome.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Dominic Thiem, Nice, Ricky Dimon, Sports

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10sBalls_com says:

May 24, 2015 at 6:22 pm

NO REST FOR THE WEARY AS @ThiemDomi HEADS TO @rolandgarros AFTER WINNING #NICE AND HIS FIRST #ATP TITLE BY @Dimonator http://t.co/bxnNeUNLxs