ATP roundup: Dominic Thiem reaches first final since ’20 in Austria

 

[August 05, 2023]  Former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem saved five match points to outlast fifth seed Laslo Djere of Serbia 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (8) in 3 1/2 hours on Friday to reach the final of the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel, Austria.

It is the Austrian's first trip to a tour-level final since the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals after a wrist injury and multiple other ailments sidetracked his career.

Thiem saved all 12 break points he faced, including three match points in the 12th game of the third set. He also trailed 6-5 and 7-6 in the third-set tiebreaker before pushing ahead and winning on his second match point.

The other semifinal match was nearly as thrilling, as Sebastian Baez needed three sets to take down top-seeded fellow Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4, in two hours and 40 minutes. Baez faced a 7-3 deficit in the aces column but saved five of nine break points while breaking his opponent's serve three times in five opportunities.

Mubadala Citi DC Open

No. 12 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands earned two wins on Friday to advance to the semifinals in Washington.

First, Griekspoor completed a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win over Frenchman Gael Monfils in the round of 16 that was suspended Thursday night due to rain. Then Griekspoor won 33 of his 37 first-service points (89.2 percent) and never faced break point in beating No. 16 seed J.J. Wolf 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

No. 5 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria is also through to the semifinals via walkover after French 13th seed Ugo Humbert withdrew due to a left leg injury.

In the night session, one seeded U.S. player won while another fell. Top seed Taylor Fritz got past Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-3, but second-seeded local favorite Frances Tiafoe lost 6-4, 7-5 to No. 9 seed Daniel Evans of Great Britain.

Aug 3, 2023; Washington, D.C., USA; Gael Monfils (FRA) chases a shot against Tallon Griekspoor (NED) (not pictured) on day six of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Fitzgerald Tennis Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The semifinals will see Fritz oppose Griekspoor while Dimitrov faces Evans.

Mifel Tennis Open

Top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece needed just 1 hour, 11 minutes to beat fourth-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia 6-3, 6-2 and advance to the final at Los Cabos, Mexico.

Tsitsipas' opponent in the title match will be fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia, who got past seventh-seeded Dominik Koepfer of Germany 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in 2:24.

Tsitsipas controlled his semifinal match with his serving, never facing a break point. He finished with a 7-1 edge in aces, while Coric had a 5-1 advantage in double faults.

Tsitsipas is looking for his first ATP Tour title this year, having lost in finals at the Australian Open and at Barcelona.

de Minaur won the event at Acapulco, Mexico, in March and got to the final of a London grass-court event ahead of Wimbledon in June.

--Field Level Media

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