STUTTGART, June 13, 2016
Dominic Thiem is the champion of the 38th edition of the €675,645 Mercedes Cup. The 22-year-old Austrian beat Philipp Kohlschreiber for the first time in the pair’s third tour meeting 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.
After a rain interrupted Sunday, the final was suspended and postponed in the tie-break of the first set. In front of about 1,500 spectators, play resumed on Mercedes Court on Monday morning, when Kohlschreiber secured the tie-break, winning 7-2. Thiem gained the first break of the match right at the beginning of the second set, defending the lead to eventually push the match the distance.
In the following, Thiem was wide awake, breaking serve in the third game when the German netted a forehand volley and eventually served out in the 10th game. Match time for the two-day-encounter was two hours and 11 minutes.
Game, Set and Match @ThiemDomi -Winner #MercedesCup2016 pic.twitter.com/BIwC0E3Sez
— MercedesCup (@MercedesCup) 13. Juni 2016
Thiem has become the first Austrian winner in Stuttgart since Thomas Muster in 1996, earning €107,900 in prize money, a brand new Mercedes-Benz SL 500, as well as 250 ATP ranking points. He is also the first player this season, winning titles on three different surfaces.
Dominic Thiem
“It feels absolutely unreal because I came here without any expectations basically, and I’m pretty sure that it’s the most special title for me. I didn’t play that well on grass over the past two years, and this tournament was so strong. I’m the winner here, I really cannot believe it,” said Thiem, who recorded an ATP World Tour-best 45th match win of the season.
“Like in Munich, it was a great match again. The tournament was excellent. Also thanks to the spectators, who came out on Monday to watch the conclusion of the final.”
Kohlschreiber told: “Congrats to Dominic, who deserved to win the title. I am obviously dissapointed losing the final. I didn’t serve well. That’s why I got broken. I tried everything until the end of the match but Dominic is in great shape at the moment, playing with huge confidence. He played really well in the deciding moments.”
Both players will continue the grass court swing in Halle with Kohlschreiber facing Marcel Granollers in the opening round and Thiem taking on Joao Sousa.
Tennis fans, who bought a ticket for Sunday’s final, will get free admission to the centre court on Sunday, 11 June or Monday, 12 June at the 2017 edition of the Mercedes Cup. They need to get in touch with the organizers via e-mail: ticket@mercedescup.de!
