By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, August 3, 2023
Wild card Dominic Thiem thrilled home fans fighting past Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first semifinal of the season in Kitzbuhel.
Photo credit: Generali Open
Dominic Thiem is still seeking his best form.
The 2020 US Open champion hasn't lost his appetite for the fight—or his commitment to the comeback.
Murray: Emotional Empowerment like Djokovic
Wild card Thiem thrilled home fans fighting past Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first semifinal of the season in Kitzbuhel.
Thiem snapped Rinderknech's seven-match winning streak, which included a run to the Zug Challenger crown last week to reach his first Tour-level semifinal since the 2022 Antwerp.
The 29-year-old Austrian will take on Laslo Djere for a spot in the final.
Earlier, Djere won 31 of 39 first-serve points and did not drop serve defeating Pedro Cachin 6-4, 6-2 to charge into his second career Kitzbuhel semifinal in four appearances.
A beaming Thiem soaked in a standing ovation from home fans afterward.
"It was another great, great night here—unbelievable," Thiem said in his on-court interview. "The only bad thing about the whole match was the start—the first game was horrible—but from that moment on it was really good against a great opponent who is playing great tennis at the moment, a tournament victory last week, two great wins here so it's amazing for me.
"First semifinals of the year and I couldn't have chosen a better place."
Though Thiem arrived at his home tournament with an unfamiliar No. 116 rank next to his name and an unsightly 9-17 record on the season, he's played inspired tennis this week.
Yesterday, Thiem battled back for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over China's Zhizhen Zhang and today's comeback win reinforces Thiem's reputation as a comeback threat.
The 2019 Kitzbuhel champion says his secret weapon is home support.
"Definitely everything is coming together here," Thiem said. "First of all the incredible support of the home crowd it's something. It's something I can rely on every single match, which is such a huge advantage for me.
"Huge experience here as well: already 13th or 14th year, whatever. I'm super happy to be in the last four."
Top-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry downed Daniel Elahi Galan 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 in a three hour, nine-minute marathon.
Etcheverry saved five of six break points, raising his 2023 record to 22-17.
Aiming for his third final of the season, Etcheverry will face Sebastian Baez in an all-Argentinean semifinal.
Cordoba champion Baez beat Alex Molcan 6-4, 6-3 and has not surrendered a set reaching his fourth semifinal of the season.