Dominic Thiem has won the $250,000 prize at the second Tiebreak Tens event in Vienna after defeating world No.2 Andy Murray 10-5 in the final.
The exhibition event featured eight past and present players split into two groups. The players participated in a series of tiebreak matches with the first to ten points winning the match. Rising star Thiem booked his place in the final following wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10-4) and Tommy Haas (10-3) in the group stages followed by a 10-5 triumph over Goran Ivanisevic in the semifinals.
Awaiting Thiem in the final was Murray, who is currently on a 10-match winning streak on the ATP Tour. The Wimbledon champion progressed to meeting with Thiem following a trio of wins over Ivanisevic (10-7), Marcus Willis (10-3) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10-7).
On the ATP Tour Thiem has never defeated Murray, but previous records were irrelevant due to the unique format of the event. A strong start from the home favourite swiftly elevated Thiem to a 5-1 lead as he held his nerve to defeat the Brit and win the high value exhibition.
Becoming the second winner of the event after Kyle Edmund last year, 23-year-old Thiem believes that the event has a bright future in tennis and believes that it is more than an exhibition.
“I think the Tie Break Tens have a great future, it is great fun. When we played in the final for the big prize it became very serious, but I think based on the level it was a very good final and I’m happy that I won.” Said Thiem.
Hosted at the Wiener Stadthalle, the same venue as the upcoming Vienna Open, Thiem has praised the timing of the event.
“I think it’s a perfect preparation for everybody, for the players and the crowd. The very serious stuff is coming up.” He said.
Endorsing Thiem’s viewpoint was runner-up Murray, who also lost in the final at the inaugural event in London. During what was a light-hearted misunderstanding, the Brit went to claim the trophy after mistaking it for a runner-up prize. The incident was laughed off by both him and the tournament presenters.
“I obviously played the event once before and I wanted to play it again. It’s great to get onto the match court with the tournament (Vienna Open) just around the corner. To play against four top quality players was great, but unfortunately I didn’t got the result in the final.” Said Murray.
#therecanonlybeonewinner Congratulations @ThiemDomi #tiebreaktens https://t.co/rKlX6k90qh
— Tie Break Tens (@tiebreaktens) 23 October 2016
