Dominic Thiem is in the final of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Buenos Aires after a commanding 6-2 and 6-1 defeat of Gael Monfil. There the Austrian meets the Slovenian Aljaz Bedene.
Thiem got off to an excellent start, scoring a 3-1 break early on, but missed two chances to score 5-1 on Monfil’s serve. However, the Austrian number one dominated the rallies with its own service – even if the kick serve from the advantage side did not want to find its way into the field at the beginning. After 32 minutes Monfils put a forehand in the end, 6:2 for the Austrian.
Thiem started the second set with two double errors – and still won the 1:0. The 24-year-old Austrian seemed to be more lively than Monfils for almost the entire duration of the season, definitely more determined than Monfils.
In the second round, Thiem also won the break to 3:1, after defending a match ball from Monfils to equalize. Thiem, who is on the road in Buenos Aires with Galo Blanco as coach, physiotherapist Alex Stober and mother Karin, set with the next break at 5:1. After only 63 minutes, the tournament favourite scored his third match point.
A few weeks ago in Doha, the match between Thiem and Monfils was also scheduled as a semi-final, when the Lower Austrian could not compete due to illness. Monfils took advantage of the hour and won the tournament in Doha. Dominic Thiem had the upper hand in each of the three matches so far, and last year in Indian Wells it was also clear that he had the upper hand.
With Aljaz Bedene a man waits for Thiem, who often coaches as a guest at the academy of Günter Bresnik, Thiems chief coach. Bedene, after a brief intermezzo under the British flag, is now back in Slovenia, Thiem’s home country, having won his two previous matches against the world’s 51st: at the beginning of the year in Doha and at the French Open in Paris in 2015.