Nicolas Mahut Masters Den Bosch, Dominic Thiem Takes Stuttgart Title In Rain-Delayed Grass Finals

by Staff | June 13th, 2016, 10:04 am
  • 24 Comments

Dominic Thiem cemented his growing legend as a player who can beat any opponent on any surface, and 34-year-old Frenchman Nicolas Mahut won a tournament for a third time as two ATP grasscourt finals were completed on Monday morning due to rains on Sunday.
ADHEREL
Mahut became a three-time Ricoh Open champion at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where the No. 8 seed beat No. 7-seeded Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4 for his fourth career grasscourt title.

“Playing a final is always special, but this was different,” Mahut said. “Getting the trophy is the most important thing. I started the match really well and tried to relax. I know winning a title doesn’t happen every week…. [Now] I have to be ready to play Andy Murray tomorrow [at Queen’s Club].”

The match resumed with Mahut up a set, and in the second set the Frenchman broke for a 3-1 lead and rode out the win to improve to a 14-12 win-loss record this year.


Thiem completed a victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber on Monday in the Stuttgart Mercedes Cup final. The No. 3 seed beat the No. 7-seeded German 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4.

“It feels absolutely unreal because I came here without any expectations basically, and I’m pretty sure that it’s the most special title for me,” said Thiem, who beat grass GOAT Roger Federer in the semifinals and won his seventh career title. “I didn’t play that well on grass over the past two years, and this tournament was so strong. I’m the winner here, I really cannot believe it.”

The 22-year-old became the ninth active player to win titles on three different surfaces in the same year in 2016 after Buenos Aires (clay), Nice (clay), and Acapulco (hard).

For Thiem the final was sweet revenge after losing to Kohlschreiber in a third-set tiebreak more than a month ago in the BMW Open final.

“It’s sad to lose the final, but I think it was a very good final,” Kohlschreiber said. “It was a tough situation, because of the rain, but overall it was a great finish for the tournament and for Dominic. I’m happy with the performance, the loss is a little bit annoying, but I am happy with the week.”


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24 Comments for Nicolas Mahut Masters Den Bosch, Dominic Thiem Takes Stuttgart Title In Rain-Delayed Grass Finals

RZ Says:

Nice to see Mahut win.


jane Says:

thiem is something else. he just keeps going and going!


MARY Healey Says:

It will not be long before Dominic is up for the # 1 role. Congratulations to one of the hardest working young men on tour.


Pamela Says:

Thiem is going to be a force to reckon with. Actually, he’s already a force to reckon with!! I look forward to watching him continue to win titles.. He will for sure be number one at some point. And he’s only 22 or 23! Amazing


Willow Says:

As a fan of Rafa, im not ready to completely give up on the guy, however i do see that his days of winning big titles are nearing, if not ended, so im looking forward to the next generation of young players coming through, and im super excited about Thiem, and im fast becoming a fan of his, he has a strong work ethic, and a all court game, which looks effortless to the eyes, i think is going to be one of my new favorite players to watch, such alot of talent, congrats on your title Dominic ….


jane Says:

he’s 22 pamela. and he has wins over rafa on clay and fed on grass. his match with novak at the FO was probably my favourite one, way closer than the scoreline suggested. and exciting to watch such a motivated young talent.

this is a great link for checking where the under-25 talent is at. you can also choose under 21 or under 18 up at the top, if you want to narrow it further

http://live-tennis.eu/rankings_under_25

i am beginning to wonder about kyrgios. he’s got a big game, but i wonder about his commitment and effort. the jury is still out on him for me.


Willow Says:

But congrats to the other title winners too ….


Willow Says:

Hopefully Delpo will have a good week at Queens, would love a final between him and Murray, if they are on opposite sides ….


ABerg Says:

I hope Thiem does not overplay. I think he had only three weeks without playing tournaments or Davis Cup since the beginning of the year and he already played 56 matches. Nish and Novak are the only other players with more than 40 matches this year, but even they are 10 or so matches behind Dominic.


Temple Says:

Thank you Thiem, I had a party with bookmakers giving you high odds, and as a result, made a small fortune. Apart from this, you are a likable person, you have an one-hand backhand like Roger and you grunt like Novak. I think I found my next decade’s star to root for. Now, who is going to be the villain…


J-Kath Says:

Well done Temple.

Re Thiem and no. of matches:
Nole 18
Andy 18
Thiem 30

Race to London:
Nole 9
Andy 8
Thiem 15 (ranked no.4)


Wog Boy Says:

jane,

Match against Thiem at FO was Nole’s best match ot just at FO, bit since Nole taking Roger to the cleaners at SO. Of course, “knowledgeable” fans on TX cameout after the match to tell us that Thiem didn’t show up:) Nole did his homework on Thiem and played focused and absolutely clean match, people should rewatch that match. I am pretty sure team Thiem wants him firmly established in top 8 so he can avoid best players in the early rounds, once they achieve that they will ease on playing every tournament. To be honest it is just matter of time before he beats Nole too, he is so good.


Wog Boy Says:

^^ “at AO” not at “SO”


jane Says:

yes, true wog boy. he will beat novak soon, too, i am sure.

j-kath, i don’t understand this part of your post

Race to London:
Nole 9
Andy 8
Thiem 15 (ranked no.4)


J-Kath Says:

Jane

It’s related to the ATP Rankings.
The intention was to show how hard/determined Thiem was playing with so many matches in order to reach stats. as close to Nole (+ Andy) as he can. The thought behind it was, no matter how “young” he may be, he could burn himself out – by such a huge physical effort. OK?


ABerg Says:

“Race to London:
Nole 9
Andy 8
Thiem 15 (ranked no.4)”
Tournaments played.


jane Says:

^ thanks j-kath and aberg: now i get it = # of events.


chrisford1 Says:

Tournaments played mean little excpt for the ” roadtrip grind factor”. In number of matches played, it is usually the Top 5 guys. And when they play, there are a lot more tough players that await, so the matches as a rule get longer and tougher as you go deep,
Getting real about Thiem:
In 2015 he played 62 matches, won 58% of them.
Andy Murray played 85 matches, winning 84%
Djokovic was in 88 matches and winning percent was 93%

Thiem would like to work as many matches as the Big 4 guys, play much tougher foes than he does now, for the most part.


danica Says:

The fact that Thiem is 22 is not that amazing because, like it or not, Rogerafole had ton of a better results by that time in their careers. But he is promising young star, no doubt. I like him although I jumped on a Sasha bandwagon. He (Dominic) seems like a genuinely nice boy too and is reputed to be quite a honey bee.


J-Kath Says:

Chrisford 1

Yes, I agree. Except it was over the course of a year. Winners end up playing more matches = players as they move thru the opposition. The difference with Thiem is that he enters more tournaments.


Tennis Vagabond Says:

Them and Del Potro are adding a bit of non-Novak excitement to a year that is otherwise all about the #1 so far.

Andy Murray’s solid grasp of #2 is another story of the year, but also an obvious consequence of Rafa, Roger and Stan taking leaves of the top tier. Whereas those 4 might have alternated in the spot of Challenger to Novak, Andy has that role all to himself at the moment.


Van Persie Says:

Danica,

Sascha won today ;)


danica Says:

VP,

Yes ;). Thanx!

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