Can anyone stop Dominic Thiem in Madrid?
One day after toppling World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, the Austrian put on a show once again inside the Caja Mágica. Thiem booked his spot in the Mutua Madrid Open final on Saturday, securing a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2 win over Kevin Anderson in one hour and 26 minutes.
The fifth seed will feature in the championship match for a second straight year, continuing his quest for a maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown. It will be his 15th tour-level final in total and fifth straight on clay, having most recently lifted the trophy at the Argentina Open in February.
"It gave me a huge boost of confidence," Thiem said of his win over Nadal. "That's for sure. But at the same time, it was a completely different matchup today. There was also the fact that I never beat him. It was 0-6 before today. Some things were a little bit shaky.
"I was keeping my level up from yesterday, so that was a great thing. The way I started was also well. Even though I played really different, I was returning very far back today.
Yeah, almost everything worked out. To beat him 4 and 2, it's a very good result."
Thiem is a man on a mission in Madrid. Twice he pulled a Houdini act in the 'Magic Box', escaping after dropping the opening set against both Federico Delbonis and Borna Coric. And a straight-set victory over five-time champion Nadal gave him his second clay-court win over the Spaniard in as many years.
On Friday, Thiem was on the front foot, standing tall on the baseline and blasting through the court with his forehand. And he would carry the momentum into Saturday's semi-final, dictating play with ruthless aggression once again.
Thiem has found a second home in Madrid, owning a 10-2 record in just three visits. And it wouldn't take long for the Austrian to find his groove on an overcast afternoon on Manolo Santana. He sent an immediate message to Anderson, breaking the South African's serve after a nine-minute opening game.
Anderson, who was appearing in his first Masters 1000 semi-final, will take great confidence from his breakthrough on the dirt. But Thiem's clay-court prowess was overwhelming, painting the lines with pinpoint precision and great depth. He would take the first set after 49 minutes, escaping a 0/40 deficit when serving for the opener, despite missing seven of eight first serves in the game.
A double fault would give Thiem the decisive break to open the second set and he would not look back. Behind a bevy of drop shots and varying spins, he snatched a second break for 4-1 and closed out the victory on a service winner after just under an hour and a half.
[ALSO LIKE]
"The thing is that my opponent tomorrow in the final is going to deserve it the same way like me," added Thiem, who will face either Alexander Zverev or Denis Shapovalov on Sunday. "It's not really a difference. Of course, I will try everything. A Masters 1000 title would mean a lot to me because it's obviously really tough to win one.
"To be honest, I thought also myself that I was pretty far away before this week started. Now I'm in the final again, which is amazing for me. Would be definitely nice if I win the title than if I lose tomorrow."
With the win, Thiem finally broke through against Anderson in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, earning his first victory in seven meetings. Anderson had claimed the previous six encounters, all on hard courts, dropping just two sets in total. Twice he prevailed at the Masters 1000 level - in Paris (2015) and Toronto (2016) - with their most recent meeting coming last year at the Citi Open in Washington.
But this was Thiem's day to turn the tables. His backhand exploded off the clay, firing five winners off that wing and 16 overall. He dominated rallies of more than four shots, capturing 26 of 37 of the longer exchanges and dictating play with aplomb.
Anderson, who was bidding to reach his fourth title match of the year, saw his six-match win streak in tour-level semi-finals snapped. He will look to keep rolling at next week's Internazionali BNL d'Italia, where he will open against either Aljaz Bedene or Gilles Muller. Fourth seed Marin Cilic is also in his quarter of the draw.
Did You Know?
Thiem is bidding to become the fifth player to win multiple tour-level titles this year, joining Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, Roberto Bautista Agut and Rafael Nadal.