A highly animated Dominic Thiem has won his eighth ATP title after defeating Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 6-4, in the final of the Rio Open in Brazil.
Chasing after his first title of 2017, it was evident how much the occasion meant to Thiem. Constantly glaring towards his camp in the crowd for inspiration, the animated Austrian was tested by Carreno Busta during the early stage of the match. Trading breaks midway through the first set, Thiem’s frustration of failing to tame his opponent on the court occasionally got the better of him with outbursts of despair. His usually reliable backhand escaped him throughout the opening set as he produced one winner compared to eight unforced errors.
Despite the roller coaster showcase of emotions, Thiem’s aggressive play proved to be the pivotal tactic in Rio with some heavy serving and breathtaking winners from the forehand side. He did appear to lack some confidence with some key points of the match, failing to convert two set points due to some questionable shot choices. Nevertheless, it was third time lucky for Thiem after a forehand down the line prompted a Carreno Busta error, rewarding him the 7-5 lead.
3rd set point is a charm for Dominic Thiem.
Watch Set 2 of the Rio Open final Live 📺: https://t.co/M53deDJyIj https://t.co/u6EsBL29LA
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 26 February 2017
Six games away from the title, Thiem intensified the strength of his serve. During the second set, he lost just one point in three consecutive service games, providing his Spanish rival with some food for thought. Waiting for his moment to pounce, a tentative Carreno Busta drop shot was punished by Thiem as he slammed a forehand winner to earn a break point. The break for a 7-5, 4-2, lead was then secured after a gripping 20-shot rally concluded with a smooth forehand volley at the net from the Austrian.
Admirably Carreno Busta’s resilience enabled him to claw his way back into the match, reviving flashbacks of his comeback against Norwegian prodigy Casper Ruud in the semifinals on Saturday. A masterful drop shot allowed the Spanish world No.24 to break back on route to levelling 4-4. Still, it wasn’t enough to derail Thiem from lifting the title. A forehand into the net from the Spaniard elevated the second seed to two championship points. Thiem then triumphed on his first chance thanks to another costly error from his opponent.
Sealing his win with a final tally of 25 winners and 19 unforced errors, Thiem praised his opponent following his win. Carreno Busta is projected to rise to a career best of 23rd in the world rankings.
“Congratulations Pablo for an amazing week, you’re an amazing player and if you continue like this you’re going to be a top player soon.” Said Thiem.
The 23-year-old extended his praise to one particular member of the crowd, three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten.
“It’s a honor to play in front of one of the greatest champions on clay”. #Thiem about @gugakuerten. #RioOpen2017
— Rio Open (@RioOpenOficial) 26 February 2017
Describing Rio as a ‘special tournament‘, Thiem has won his first title since the Stuttgart Open last June. He will next travel to Mexico to play on the hard courts in Acapulco in what will be his fourth consecutive tournament is as many weeks.
