Dominic Thiem may have forgotten if he was five or six years old when he first visited the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, but the Austrian will always remember lifting the trophy at the Wiener Stadthalle on Sunday.

The 26-year-old defeated good friend Diego Schwartzman 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in front of a packed home crowd in the Austrian capital, bringing his best level in crucial moments to complete the win after two hours and 25 minutes. Thiem improves to 9-0 in his home country this year, having also lifted the Generali Open trophy in Kitzbühel without dropping a set in August.

“It’s been an unbelievable year for me in Austria, to win titles in Kitzbühel and now here in Vienna,” said Thiem. “I have had some troubles to deliver my best tennis in front of these amazing crowds in Kitzbühel and also here in Vienna and now, in the same year, I win both titles. It is completely unreal to me.”

The World No. 5 becomes the first player to lift five tour-level trophies in 2019, breaking a five-way tie with fellow Top 5 stars Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Daniil Medvedev. Thiem extends his unbeaten streak at the ATP 500-level to 10 matches, having also lifted the China Open title earlier this month.

In his 10th straight appearance at this ATP 500 event, Thiem becomes the first Austrian to claim the trophy since Jurgen Melzer defeated Andreas Haider-Maurer in an all-Austrian championship match in 2010. Thiem, a 16-time tour-level titlist, entered the week with an 8-8 tournament record, with his previous best results in Vienna coming en route to the 2013 and 2018 quarter-finals.

The Austrian owns five FedEx ATP Head2Head victories from seven matches against Schwartzman. The two-time Roland Garros runner-up also improves to 45-16 this year. This is the fourth straight season that Thiem has recorded 40 or more tour-level wins.

“Three times this week, I came from one set down,” said Thiem. “To share the court and final with a guy who became a very close friend in all these years is very nice in one way. To beat him in such an important match is hard in the other way… It has been a dream week.”

Schwartzman made a quick start to his second ATP 500 final, breaking Thiem on three occasions to silence the home crowd and earn a one-set advantage after 43 minutes. The Argentine soaked up Thiem’s powerful groundstrokes from behind the baseline and fired low passing shots to the laces of his opponent with pinpoint accuracy. Thiem attempted to shorten points by rushing to the net and introduced drop shots to disrupt Schwartzman’s rhythm, but the World No. 15 transitioned up the court well to finish points.

After firing an ace out wide to save break point at 2-3 in the second set, Thiem soon forced a decider to bring the crowd inside the Wiener Stadthalle to its feet. The Austrian played with great variety on his backhand side and attacked Schwartzman’s forehand to gain the break at 4-4, before firing a powerful serve down the T to level the match.

Thiem rode the momentum into the deciding set, breaking serve in the opening game with a series of flat winners down the line. The Austrian maintained his advantage and broke his opponent for the fourth time with a forehand down the line to claim the title, before collapsing to the floor in celebration.

“I think he did really well and he didn’t miss anything,” said Thiem. “I really have troubles to play against him, because it doesn’t matter what I do. If I play fast or if I play slow, he always has an answer to everything… I was fighting and, of course, I had this huge advantage with the home crowd. I used it well at the end.”

Schwartzman was bidding to follow in the footsteps of 2012 champion Juan Martin del Potro, who is the only Argentine to triumph at this ATP 500 event. The Los Cabos champion will travel to the Rolex Paris Masters in 14th position in the ATP Race To London with 2,115 points. Schwartzman trails eighth-placed Berrettini by 545 points.

“I am very happy because I have got the confidence again,” said Schwartzman. “I felt very good on court. The support of the people was crazy. It was really nice and real for me. In another place, really far from home, I felt really nice. After the first set, he played so aggressive. He was better than me and that is why he won the title.”

Did You Know?
Among players who have contested 10 or more deciding sets this season, Thiem leads the ATP Tour with a 12-2 record. Thiem recovered from a set down on three occasions this week, also completing comeback wins against Fernando Verdasco and Matteo Berrettini.

Some things seem like they’ll never change on the ATP Tour. Roger Federer won his 10^thSwiss Indoors Basel title on Sunday, entering double digits at a tournament for only the second time by racing past #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-2.

Federer, playing in front of a fervent home crowd, played attacking tennis against the speedy 20-year-old, who was going for his fourth title of the season (3-1). The 38-year-old broke four times, mixing up the pace and keeping De Minaur on the move from the back of the court.

“It was fast but very nice. I think I played a great match. It was a tough opener, in the beginning, the first five games, we had some great rallies. I never looked back,” Federer said. “I was great on the offence, made very few unforced errors and came up with the big shots and served well when I had to.

“I thought Alex played a great tournament as well, and I think we both can be very happy. But what a moment for me to win my 10th here in my hometown of Basel.”

The Aussie targetted Federer’s backhand, but Federer combatted the strategy well, slicing balls to keep De Minaur guessing. The Swiss broke twice in the opening set, smashing an overhead for a 3-1 lead and taking advantage of a loose service game from De Minaur to close out the opening set. In the second, the home favourite ripped a forehand pass to break in the second game and place a stranglehold on momentum.

“He just puts you under pressure,” De Minaur said. “Any ball that isn’t a metre from the baseline for him is a short ball. That’s something I learned the hard way today. But I can’t wait until I’m able to step out and play him again.”

The Swiss now can count Basel alongside the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle as his most successful tournaments by titles won. Federer has won his home ATP 500 during his past five appearances. He improved to 75-9 at the tournament and has won 24 consecutive matches on centre court. “[I] couldn’t be more happy,” Federer said. “What a great tournament it’s been for me, always, but particularly the last few times I’ve been here.”

Roger Federer’s Most Titles By Tournament (All Tournament Records)

Federer won his fourth title of the season, tied for second best on the Tour, and the 103^rd of his career (103-54). He will receive 500 ATP Rankings points and €430,125 in prize money. 

De Minaur, who was going for the biggest title of his career, will get 300 ATP Rankings points and €216,025 in prize money. The Aussie is projected to crack the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings for the first time in his career on Monday. De Minaur is also set to make his second appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 5-9 November at the Allianz Cloud in Milan.

“I’m very happy… [It’s] been an incredible experience, one which I will learn a lot from,” De Minaur said. “I think it’s a lot of good work that I’ve put in, a lot of hard work with my team. I’m happy to see the results paying off.”

Most Tour-Level Titles In 2019

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury increased their chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday, defeating Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-5 to lift the Erste Bank Open trophy.

The American-British pairing claimed its second ATP Tour title after one hour and 47 minutes, saving both break points they faced against the top seeds. Ram and Salisbury captured their maiden team trophy at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in March.

The fourth seeds add to their ATP Doubles Race To London total after recording their 36th tour-level victory as a team this season. Ram and Salisbury currently occupy the final qualification position in the Race with 3,490 points, with nearest rivals Henri Kontinen and John Peers holding 3,000 points ahead of the Rolex Paris Masters.

This is the second straight year that Salisbury has captured the Vienna crown. The 27-year-old won last year’s tournament alongside countryman Neal Skupski. Salisbury improves to 4-3 in ATP Tour finals. Ram adds a 19th trophy to his collection after his 34th tour-level championship match.

Kubot and Melo were attempting to collect the Vienna trophy for the third time as a team. The 2015 and 2016 champions, who have already qualified for The O2, own a 13-10 team record in tour-level finals.

Ram and Salisbury receive 500 ATP Doubles Ranking points and split €149,010 in prize money. Kubot and Melo gain 300 points and share €72,950.

Top seeds Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo found themselves in familiar territory on Saturday at the Erste Bank Open, defeating third seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4 to reach their second final in Vienna.

The 2015 champions (d. Murray/Peers) haven’t dropped a set en route to their sixth ATP Tour doubles final of the season. They’ve won 16 of their past 19 matches, taking the title at the Winston-Salem Open (d. Monroe/Sandgren) and finishing runner-up at the Rolex Shanghai Masters (l. to Pavic/Soares) and China Open (l. to Dodig/Polasek). 

Kubot/Melo will play fourth seeds Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury in the championship match. Salisbury prevailed here last year with Neal Skupski (d. M. Bryan/Roger-Vasselin).

Despite the loss, Herbert/Mahut secured their team berth at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals for the fifth successive year. The reigning Australian Open champions (d. Kontinen/Peers) qualified in accordance to the Grand Slam rule after Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz/Andreas Mies clinched their spot at The O2 in London from 10-17 November.

Trailing by a set and 0-3, fourth seeds Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau fought back at the Swiss Indoors Basel to win their semi-final against Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 10-5. Rojer/Tecau are aiming for their second ATP Tour doubles title of the year after prevailing in May at the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Schwartzman/Thiem).

Awaiting them in the final are Taylor Fritz/Reilly Opelka, who continued their dream run with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Santiago Gonzalez/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. They’re both seeking their maiden ATP Tour doubles crown and Opelka is appearing in his first tour-level doubles final.

The Swiss Indoors Basel holds a special place in Roger Federer’s heart for plenty of reasons. It’s where he served as a ball boy for two years, played his first ATP Tour event and faced his first Top 10 opponent. More than 20 years after he first competed in St Jakobshalle Basel, the Swiss is still creating unforgettable memories.

Federer is one match away from his tenth title in Basel after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday, setting up a championship clash with another #NextGenATP player in Alex de Minaur. The top seed has made the final in 13 consecutive appearances at this event and 15 overall.

“I remember playing the qualifying here in 1997 and then my first [main draw] wild card here the next year, playing Andre Agassi,” Federer said. “Who would have thought that I’d go on to have this kind of career? I remember being heartbroken losing my first final here in five sets (to Thomas Enqvist in 2000), but now there’s been another 14 since. I’m just so pleased to have made it to the final again.”

With a 74-9 record in Basel and 23 consecutive wins on centre court, it’s hard to blame Federer for enjoying it here. But it’s not just his track record of success that keeps him coming back each year. The love he receives from the fans in every match provides an extra boost of motivation at the end of a long season.

“Even if I’m up a set and a break, the [crowd is] not just there when I’m down in the score and feel like I need it,” Federer said. “They enjoy when I’m playing good tennis and it pushes me to play even better, keep on trying every point and try to make something happen. That’s what you do with a home court advantage.”

Federer’s childhood memories of this event remain some of his fondest. Video footage of him shaking hands on court with Michael Stich after the 1993 final resurfaced this week and quickly made the rounds on social media. The Swiss still has the medals he received during his time as a ball boy.

“At heart, I’m always gonna be a ball boy” ❤️

When #SwissIndoorsBasel rolls around each year, it’s always special for @rogerfederer… pic.twitter.com/R3BgPlcraI

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 23, 2019

“I loved being a ball boy here,” Federer said to Tennis TV. “I was able to see the best players in the world firsthand and see how they would prepare, how they would sweat, how they deal with the pressure. They’re good moments for me.”

The positive impact that Federer’s time as a ball boy had on him is something that he tries to pay forward. It’s become an annual tradition for him to have pizza with the ball boys and ball girls in Basel at the end of the tournament, where they also present him with a medal.

“I guess it means I’m still a ball boy, too,” Federer said. “Because at heart, I’m always going to be a ball boy.”

The battle for year-end No. 1 continues at next week’s Rolex Paris Masters, but you wouldn’t know it watching Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal practise together on Saturday.

The top two seeds put aside the magnitude of what’s at stake and had a two-hour practice on centre court, closing out their early afternoon session with competitive match play. Nadal led Djokovic 6-4, 2-2, before they moved to a tie-break that the Serbian won. Nadal and Djokovic carried themselves with the intensity that fans have come to expect, but still shared a few lighthearted moments on court.

The battle for No. 1…@RafaelNadal & @DjokerNole practice together ahead of the @RolexPMasters ?pic.twitter.com/OZtwEppqtP

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 26, 2019

— ATP Tour en Español (@ATPTour_ES) October 26, 2019

“I’m not sure if we can see this in any other sport, but here we like to keep things simple,” said Nadal’s coach, former World No. 1 Carlos Moya. “Why couldn’t we practise with Djokovic? We’ve tried on many occasions, but weren’t able to do it due to scheduling issues.”

Nadal holds a healthy 1,280 point-lead over Djokovic in the ATP Race to London, which acts a barometer for who will finish the year at No. 1. If the Spaniard can clinch his first title in Paris, he will put the battle out of reach and ensure he finishes as year-end No. 1 for the fifth time. Meanwhile, Djokovic is seeking a record-tying sixth year-end No. 1 finish.

Four-time champion Djokovic will start his week against local favourite Richard Gasquet or fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic. Nadal begins his campaign against a qualifier or Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

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Diego Schwartzman recorded a big win in his bid to reach the Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday, defeating fellow London contender Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 at the Erste Bank Open.

The Argentine saved all four break points he faced to overcome the 2008 runner-up after 74 minutes. The victory is Schwartzman’s 39th tour-level win this year, which equals his personal-best tally achieved in 2017.

“I am very, very happy,” said Schwartzman. “It was not the best few weeks before here, with China and Antwerp. Now I am feeling really good again on court. [I am] feeling solid, patient, aggressive and focussed.

“[I am] trying to do everything good. It is really nice for me to get the confidence again. Having this kind of tournament at the end of the year is really nice.”

Schwartzman adds 120 points to his ATP Race To London score, increasing his total to 2,115 points. The World No. 15 currently sits in 14th position in the Race, 545 points behind eighth-placed Matteo Berrettini (2,660 points). If Schwartzman lifts the Vienna trophy on Sunday, he will collect another 200 points and rise to 12th position in the Race.

Schwartzman will be attempting to win multiple ATP Tour trophies in a single season for the first time. The 27-year-old lifted his third ATP Tour trophy at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex in Los Cabos two months ago.

Schwartzman will face home favourite Dominic Thiem in the championship match. The Buenos Aires native owns two FedEx ATP Head2Head victories from six encounters against the World No. 5.

”Tomorrow is not going to be the same with the crowd cheering for me every time in these four matches,” said Schwartzman. “Tomorrow is the home guy. We played this year in Buenos Aires and it was crazy. It was a big match and I beat him. Now I play him in his home, for the third time this year, against my friend in the final of this kind of tournament. Everything is so nice for us and I am really going to enjoy it.”

Schwartzman claimed two service breaks in each set to advance to his seventh tour-level championship match (3-3). The three-time ATP Tour titlist soaked up the pressure from Monfils with consistent play from the baseline and held his ground on break points, moving the Frenchman across the court to create space and extract errors.

Monfils was aiming to boost his own chances of booking a spot at The O2 in London. With 2,350 points, the Frenchman travels to the Rolex Paris Masters in 10th place in the Race. Monfils trails Berrettini by 310 points.