MADRID: Dominic Thiem has reached his first ever Masters 1000 final after overcoming Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 6-4, at the Madrid Open.
The Austrian was the stronger forced throughout the match as he claimed a total of ten break point opportunities, but converted only two of them (one in each set). In contrast, an animated Cuevas appeared visibly frustrated on the court as he struggled to generate a consistent rhythm in his game. In total Cuevas produced a total of 28 unforced errors compared to Thiem’s tally of 10.
“I feel great. It means a lot to me to play a final. My first finals in this level.” Said Thiem.
“These kind of tournaments are so strong, so it’s amazing for me to go that far. I’m very happy at the moment.”
As a result of the semi-final victory, Thiem has become the youngest player to reach a Masters final since Milos Raonic at the 2013 Montreal Open. If he wins the title, the Austrian will become the youngest champion since Andy Murray in 2010 (Shanghai).
Thiem’s reward will be a clash with home favourite Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s final. The 23-year-old has already played the Spaniard on the clay once this year, losing in straight sets at the Barcelona Open. He trails their head-to-head 1-3, but is hoping to learn from his previous misfortunes against the nine-time French Open champion.
“Adrenaline is going to be very high tomorrow. I’m going to be fit. I will give everything tomorrow, and hope that I can play a good final.” He said.
“I will try to improve the things I didn’t do that good in Barcelona and then we will see what happens.”
Last year Thiem defeated Nadal in three sets at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. If he grabs a second win in Madrid, he will become the first ATP player born after 1988 to win such a prestigious title.
