By Chris Oddo | Monday June 13, 2016
After a long, rainy Sunday in Stuttgart forced Dominic Thiem and Philipp Kohlschreiber to the locker room without the completion of a set, the Mercedes Cup final was resumed on Monday at a different venue.
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Thiem and Kohlschrieber found better conditions at the cozier, drier Mercedes Court (the main stadium was too wet, and thus unplayable), but it would be only Thiem that found his high gear on this cloudy Monday.
Thiem dropped the first four points to lose the first-set tiebreaker but responded by taking the next two sets, saving multiple break points in each of them (five in total) to secure a 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 victory over the German.
The victory completes a rare surface sweep for the 22-year-old Austrian. He has now won titles on hard, clay and grass to become the ninth active player to achieve the feat.
"It feels absolutely unreal because I came here without any expectations basically, and I'm pretty sure that it's the most special title for me,” said Thiem, who saved two match points on Saturday to upset Roger Federer in three sets. "I didn't play that well on grass over the past two years, and this tournament was so strong. I'm the winner here, I really cannot believe it."
Thiem won for the first time against Kohlschreiber and avenged a loss in the Munich final on clay this spring. The 22-year-old now has four titles this season and he leads the ATP Tour with 45 wins against 11 losses.
All four of Thiem’s final victories have come in three sets and he improved to 19-1 in deciders in 2016 with Monday’s victory over Kohlschreiber.
"It's sad to lose the final, but I think it was a very good final,” Kohlschreiber said. “It was a tough situation, because of the rain, but overall it was a great finish for the tournament and for Dominic. I'm happy with the performance."
Thiem will next head to Halle where he is slated to face Joao Sousa in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open.
Kohlschreiber, who drops to 24-12 on the season and 50-28 career on grass, will face Marcel Granollers in the first-round at Halle.