Klizan Comeback Clamps Clown Monfils; Thiem New Clay King?

Klizan Caps Comeback Week with Rotterdam Title

Slovak Martin Klizan closed a week of coming from behind in big matches to defeat Gael Monfils from a set down 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
ADHEREL
In the quarters Klizan saved five match points against Roberto Bautista Agut, and three match points in the semifinal against Nicolas Mahut.

“It was my dream to be on the board with these unbelievably great players,” Klizan said of the trophy in Rotterdam. “It’s an amazing feeling. Every day I was just fighting. Most of the time I had three-hour matches every day, so the only thing I could do was fight.”

In the third set Klizan ran to a 5-0 lead before closing the match out for his fourth career title and a perfect 4-0 record in finals. The 29-year-old Monfils dropped to 5-18 in career finals.

Thiem a Clay Machine After Beating Nadal, Almagro at Argentina Open

Dominic Thiem followed up his earlier upset of King of Clay Rafael Nadal to beat another Spanish veteran, Nicolas Almagro 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(4) in the Sunday final of the Argentina Open.

“It’s the best of my titles so far because the tournament draw was so strong,” said Thiem, who came back from down a break in the third. “You need a bit of luck to win these kinds of tournaments…you have to be aggressive against these great players. If you let them dictate, you’ll always be second best.”

Almagro fell to 12-10 in tour finals, but in the semifinals the 30-year-old snapped a 15-match losing streak against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.

Thiem improved to 4-1 in career finals, winning his first of 2016 after winning three in 2015.