KITZBÜHEL, August 4, 2023 (by Dietmar Kaspar)
Dominic Thiem has reached his first championship match on the ATP Tour since 2020 by rallying past Laslo Djere 6-7 (3), 7-5, 7-6 (8) in Friday’s semi-finals of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel.
Both players started on a high level and did not lose a service game in the opening set. In the tie-break, the 28-year-old Serbian, who reached the final of the Hamburg European Open last week, had the better ending winning 7-3.
Thiem broke his opponent’s serve in the 11th game of the second set and the match went the distance. The deciding set also did not see any breaks until a 6-5-lead for Djere. The World No. 38, however, missed three match points on Thiem’s serve. In a thrilling tie-break, the former World No. 3 saved two more match points of the Serb and secured victory in three and a half hours.
WHAT A MOMENT 🤯@domithiem saves 5 (!) match points and is into his first ATP final in 3 years!#GeneraliOpen pic.twitter.com/91qkbNziFS
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 4, 2023
“It was a tough battle with both players competing at a high level. I knew that I had to stay focused all the time,” said Thiem, who could lift his first trophy since the 2020 US Open.”It’s very special today, my first final on the tour since my wrist injury. I couldn’t be happier that it’s here in Austria at home.”
Baez beats Etcheverry
The World No. 116 will next take on Sebastian Baez of Argentina, who edged past his compatriot and top seed of the ATP 250 clay-court event, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4.
Seb-Sational!⚡️@sebaabaez7 is into the final in Kitzbuhel! He outlasts Etcheverry in a thrilling encounter 7-6 3-6 6-4#GeneraliOpen pic.twitter.com/OTtFreCQxi
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 4, 2023
Both players started solid on serve without dropping a service game. In the 11th game, the 22-year-old Baez converted his second break-point chance to serve for the opening set. But the La Plata-born Etcheverry fought back and capitalized on his fourth opportunity for the break to go for the decider. At the score of 5-5 in the tie-break, Baez earned two points in a row to take the first set.
Etcheverry started to increased his level in the following, played more aggressive to get a fast 4-0-lead. After Baez closed the gap with three games in a row, 24-year-old Etcheverry sealed the set with two consecutive game wins.
In the ninth game of the final set, World No. 34 Etcheverry struggled in his service game and lost without winning a point. Baez, a former top-ranked junior, used the momentum and closed the match out after two hours and 41 minutes. The World No. 72 has reached his first tour-level final since winning the 2023 Cordoba title in February.
“I know Thomas for all my life and I expected a tough battle as it was today, so I am very happy about the win. It is never easy to compete against a good friend, but it is part of the sport,” Baez said during his on-court-interview.
