By Alberto Amalfi | Saturday, September 24, 2016
Dominic Thiem reeled off nine of the last 12 games slipping past Gilles Simon, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, to reach his sixth final of the season in Metz.
Photo credit: Arnaud Briand/Moselle Open
Gilles Simon served for the match. Then Dominic Thiem took charge of the match.
The top-seeded Thiem reeled off nine of the last 12 games slipping past Simon, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, to reach the Metz final.
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Thiem advanced to his 10th career final, including his sixth title match of 2016.
The fourth-seeded Simon, who had won 14 of his last 15 Metz matches, served for his third trip to the final at 5-4 in the second set.
Thumping the ball with vigor, Thiem hammered a forehand down the line to break back for 5-all.
The 23-year-old Austrian unleashed another crackling forehand to break for the second time in a row and snatch the second set.
A Simon backhand error gave Thiem the crucial third-set break. The 28th-ranked Frenchman won just one point on his second serve in the final set.
The Thiem serve was key to closing: He served 66 percent and won 20 of 24 points played on his serve in the decider.
An aggressive Thiem won 16 of 25 trips to net as he continues his quest for his first career title on indoor hard courts.
Thiem, whose four titles this season ties him with Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka for second place on the ATP Tour, will face either second-seeded Lucas Pouille in Sunday's final.
The Frenchman eased past David Goffin, 7-6(6), 6-1, to improve to 3-0 vs. the Belgian. Pouille, who reached the Wimbledon and U.S. Open quarterfinals this season, is into his second ATP final and will bid for his first title on Sunday.
A Frenchman has won six of the last seven titles, with the only exception in that span being David Goffin's title in 2014.