BUENOS AIRES, February 15, 2016

Dominic Thiem was down a break in the deciding set against Nicolas Almagro in the final of the $598,865 Argentina Open, but rallied to notch his fourth ATP World Tour title.

The world number 19 from Austria beat top-seed Rafael Nadal in a third-set tie-break in the semi-finals and improved to 4-0 in deciding tie-breaks on Sunday. Thiem hit nine aces, won 79% of his first service points and converted one of his three break point chances to seal victory in in two hours and 28 minutes. Among players born in the 1990s, Thiem’s title total only trails that of Milos Raonic (8).

Thiem received the trophy from Guillermo Coria (photo: Argentina Open)

“It’s the best of my titles so far because the tournament draw was so strong,” told Thiem.

“It’s tough to stay focused and ready mentally. All the players who play here have a lot of experience. It’s something you cannot simulate. You just need to be in that situation to become strong mentally. I’m a bit older, more experienced. Even if you beat Nadal in the semis, you still want to win in the final. I didn’t think much about the victory yesterday and focused on the final today. You have to be aggressive against these great players. If you let them dictate, you’ll always be second best.”

Top-seeded Columbians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah earned their fifth team title, winning 6-3, 6-0 against Inigo Cervantes and Paolo Lorenzi in 59 minutes.

“Juan Sebastian and I thought that we played at a high level, and the score said it all. After we got the first break, we both returned very well. We were very relaxed in the second set and stayed focused,” Farah told.

“We’re really happy to get the title in Buenos Aires,” Cabal added. “We felt good both on and off the court here. We were good in the key moments today.”

Doubles finalists Buenos Aires