Thiem Ends Berrettini Run, Reaches First Vienna Final

In his 10th straight appearance at the Erste Bank Open, Dominic Thiem reached his first final in Vienna on Saturday with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win against Matteo Berrettini.

In front of a packed crowd at the Wiener Stadthalle, the home favourite once again found his best level in crucial moments to advance after two hours and 33 minutes. Thiem is the first Austrian to reach the championship match at this ATP 500 event since Jurgen Melzer defeated Andreas Haider-Maurer in the all-Austrian 2010 championship match.

“I never experienced such a great atmosphere here,” said Thiem. “It was full from the first point on. Such a loud atmosphere as well. It was perfect to play in and the match was on a very high level from the first to the last point… With all the support and home advantage, I was able to pull through.”

Thiem, who broke Berrettini on five occasions, improves to 8-0 in Austria this year. The World No. 5 lifted his maiden title on home soil at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel without dropping a set in August.

The Austrian will face Diego Schwartzman or Gael Monfils in the championship match. Thiem leads Schwartzman 4-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and is unbeaten in five matches against Monfils.

“I am very confident now,” said Thiem. “It was a tough match mentally and physically but it was not too late. There is going to be an amazing energy again tomorrow, so I am really looking forward to that. It was a big dream from the first time I came here when I was five or six years old to be there on Sunday and tomorrow is that day. I am going to be very ready.”

Among players who have contested 10 or more deciding sets this season, Thiem leads the ATP Tour with an 11-2 record. The 26-year-old’s comeback win also snaps Berrettini’s streak of 28 straight victories after winning the first set.

Berrettini made a fast start on Center Court, dictating with his forehand and capitalising on uncharacteristic errors from Thiem to establish a 2-1 lead. Despite dropping serve at 3-2, Berrettini maintained his attacking game plan. The Italian ran around his backhand and charged the net to claim two further service breaks and the opening set.

Returning from a deep position behind the baseline, Thiem attacked Berrettini’s backhand to claim the first break of the second set. Despite the Italian ripping a series of powerful returns to level the score at 4-4, Thiem managed to extend rallies and impose his game to break once more for a 6-5 lead. Thiem forced a decider with his second set point, ripping a forehand up the line to raise the roof at the Wiener Stadthalle.

After a competitive opening six games in the decider, Thiem claimed three straight games to reach his 24th tour-level championship match (15-8). The two-time Roland Garros finalist turned the tables on his opponent, overpowering Berrettini with his forehand to make the crucial break. Two games later, Thiem broke for a fifth time with a backhand up the line to claim victory.

Berrettini was aiming to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. The Italian currently occupies the eighth and final qualification position for the elite eight-man event with 2,660 points.

Did You Know?
Since the beginning of the 2016 ATP Tour season, Dominic Thiem has reached 20 finals. Only Novak Djokovic (25), Rafael Nadal (23) and Roger Federer (21) have reached more championship matches in the same period. Federer will aim to reach his 22nd when he faces Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Swiss Indoors Basel semi-finals today.