By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday April 29, 2023
Stefanos Tsitsipas edged a resurgent Dominic Thiem in a thriller to advance at Madrid.
Photo Source: TTV
Dominic Thiem pushed valiantly to earn his first Top 10 win since 2020, taking Stefanos Tsitsipas to the limit on Saturday at the Madrid Open, but the Greek eventually held his ground and edged out the resurgent Austrian in a spirited tussle, 3-6 6-1 7-6(5).
Tsitsipas, who improves to 21-6 on the season, will face Argentina’s Sebastian Baez in the third round.
At one point fourth-seeded Tsitsipas connected on 39 consecutive first serves – he made 79 percent for the match, as he held off the former World No.3 in two hours and 19 minutes.
It was the pair’s first meeting since 2020, when Thiem defeated Tsitsipas in three sets at the Nitto ATP Finals, and their ninth overall.
It was a promising effort from Thiem, who drops to 7-12 on the season but showed some of his best tennis of the season in a battle of former Roland-Garros and Madrid finalists.
"It was very physical and I think we both played our best," Tsitsipas said. "I'm in a way happy that we were able to show that kind of tennis... Things weren't easy at the very end but I just kept fighting."
Seeking a season-changing win, Thiem was quick to take control of the contest, breaking for 3-1 and building a 4-1 lead in set one before claiming the opening set. But Tsitsipas struck back decisively, taking the middle set 6-1.
Tsitsipas held the edge in play in the final set but Thiem stood firm, saving six break points to bring the contest to a deciding tiebreak. Thiem saved 12 of 14 break points overall, while Tsitsipas saved one of two.
The 29-year-old Austrian would pull out to a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak before Tsitsipas responded by winning four points on the trot to get to 5-3. Tsitsipas then won the final two points to close out his victory and improve to 4-5 lifetime against Thiem.
Thiem’s losing streak against the Top 10 is now ten matches. He has not notched a Top 10 win since taking out Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in 2020.