By Chris Oddo | Sunday February 28, 2016
Dominic Thiem edged Bernard Tomic in a spirited Acapulco final to claim his first career hard court title and fifth overall, 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3.
The victory caps off a terrific month for the 22-year-old Austrian that has seen him go 13-1 with titles in Buenos Aires and Acapulco. Earlier this month Thiem toiled on the red clay where he notched eye-opening victories over Rafael Nadal, Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer en route to a title in Buenos Aires and a semifinal in Rio.
He made the switch to the hard courts seamlessly, continuing his torrid play in Acapulco and staying red-hot in the clutch. Thiem has won all six three-setters he has played in February and now leads the ATP with 18 wins this season.
"It was unbelievable," said Thiem. "These three weeks have been amazing. Winning my first 500 title and first hard-court title, it was just perfect.
Behind 5-3 in set one vs. Tomic, Thiem rallied to win 12 straight points, force a tiebreaker and claim the set in 47 minutes.
But Tomic responded in the middle set by saving break points at 4-3 and 5-4 to hold and force a decider.
In the third set Tomic took the early lead again, but Thiem responded to take six of the final eight games to clinch the title.
Theim joins Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Cuevas as one of five to have won multiple titles thus far in 2016.