By Chris Oddo | Sunday February 14, 2016
The youngest player in the ATP’s top-20 is looking like he may soon be the youngest player in the ATP’s top-10. It’s too early to tell what 22-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem’s upside is, but it’s clear to see that he’s a terror on the red clay.
A day after becoming the youngest player to defeat Rafael Nadal on clay since 2005 in Saturday’s semifinals at Buenos Aires, Thiem outlasted hard-hitting Nicolas Almagro in a hotly contested Argentina Open final, 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(4).
Theim’s fourth career title in five finals leaves him tied with Grigor Dimitrov for second-most titles won by players born in the 1990’s, and improves his record to 9-3 on the season.
Neither player was broken in a tight opening set, but Thiem broke open the tiebreaker early and never looked back, dropping just two points.
In the second set Almagro saved the only break point he faced and broke Thiem twice, the second time when the Austrian tossed in a double-fault on set point.
After a quick trade of breaks in the decider, both players tightened up on serve and marched to a tiebreaker. After Almagro’s forehand clipped the tape and caromed out to give Thiem a critical mini-break and a 5-4 lead in the tiebreaker, the Austrian came in behind a well-struck forehand to knock off a volley to give himself his first championship point.
It was the only one he would need. Almagro’s forehand drifted long on the next point and Thiem fell to the clay on his back, soaking up the exuberance of the crowd and relishing the moment.
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