Thiem Sends French Warning Shot with Nice Title

Dominic “The Thiem Machine” Thiem sent out a Roland Garros warning shot on Saturday, defeating Alex Zverev 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 for the ATP Nice title.
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The two up-and-comers, part of the ATP’s crappy #NextGen campaign, which is apparently a step up from “New Balls,” battled for two sets before Zverev’s #NextGen autoobile ran out of gas as Thiem baked a third-set bagel.

Now it’s a matter of whether Thiem can recover for Roland Garros.

“The first time I had to defend a title and I made it,” Thiem said. “Maybe I played better in the three matches before this, but a final is always special. You have so much to win and so much to lose. I played a solid third set and I’m really happy. My arm is a little tired, but I will be OK for Roland Garros on Monday.”

He improved to 3-1 in finals this year and 6-2 in career finals.

Thiem lost five points in the third set as Zverev’s tank went to “E.”

Zverev, appearing in his first ATP final, was attempting to become the first teen title winner on the ATP circuit in eight years since Marin Cilic.

“I spent about 12.5 hours on court this week, so I’m a bit tired,” Zverev said. “Against a player like Dominic, who is one of the best claycourt players right now, you have to be at your best to beat him. There’s not a lot of chances. It’s really tough to win when you’re not at 100 percent.”