Thiem Saves 2 MPs, Edges Paul In Vienna

Dominic Thiem found himself on the brink Thursday at the Erste Bank Open, but he showcased his fighting qualities to survive on home soil in Vienna.

The former World No. 3 saved two match points en route to a hard-fought 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(6) win against American Tommy Paul at the ATP 500 event.

In front of a packed home crowd, Thiem recovered from a slow start as he grew into the match. He fired his fierce groundstrokes through the court and held his nerve under pressure, saving two match points at 4/6 and 5/6 in the third-set tie-break to eventually triumph after two hours and 58 minutes.

Thiem is making his 11th appearance in Vienna, with his best result a run to the title in 2019. The 29-year-old will look to continue his journey at this week’s event when he plays top seed Daniil Medvedev or Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round.

Thiem arrives in Vienna in strong form, having advanced to consecutive tour-level semi-finals in Gijon and Antwerp earlier this month. The 2020 US Open champion is up six spots to No. 107 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his win against Paul.

In other action, Cameron Norrie kept his slim Nitto ATP Finals chances alive when he defeated Argentine Pedro Cachin 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(1). The 27-year-old is 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin on 2,400 points. Norrie, who competed in Turin as an alternate last season, is 825 points behind seventh-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The prestigious end-of-year event will take place in Turin from 8-12 November. Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic have already qualified.