Dominic Thiem claimed he played one of his ‘best ever matches’ as he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 6-4 6-1 to win the Beijing title.
The Austrian recovered from a set and a break down to defeat a resurgent Tsitsipas in three sets to win his fourth title of the season at the China Open.
Having been 6-3 2-1 down, Thiem managed to turn the match around and produce a stunning final set to claim his maiden title in Beijing.
As a result of the win, the 26 year-old is now level with titles in 2019 with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who won in Tokyo this week.
After the match, Thiem told the Beijing crowd that it was one of his best ever matches, “Honestly I think this was one of the best matches I have played so far in my whole career,” Thiem said during the trophy ceremony.
“Of course, it means a lot to me. I equalled my best season with four titles now and I’d never won more than one match in China in a tournament and now I have the title, that sounds really great to me and I’ve added the first one in Asia so that’s always nice to win on different continents.”
It’s a win that solidifies Thiem’s place as the danger man outside the big three having been so consistent this year, when it has mattered the most.
Although it was a gutting loss for Tsitsipas to take, the week has seen him play his best tennis since Roland Garros and the Greek praise his opponent afterwards, “Dominic is tough, he doesn’t let people win,” Tsitsipas claimed.
“He always finds solutions to somehow get it. He actually deserves it a lot so congrats to him and his team for putting the effort and doing a good job. It was a great week.”
Both men now head to Shanghai as they look to build on their good weeks in Beijing, Tsitsipas will play Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alexander Bublik in his first match.
While the Austrian faces Ze Zhang or Pablo Carreno Busta as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer look like being the favourites to take the crown at the next Masters 1000 event.
