Thiem wins Barcelona

The finale in Barcelona.

Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell - an ATP 500 category tournament, on Red Clay, in Barcelona, Spain, 22-28 April 2019.

Defending champion:

Rafa Nadal (1) who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 6-1

Dominic Thiem (3) v Daniil Medvedev (7)

The players had met only once before, in St Petersburg 2018, with Thiem successful in a deciding tie break.

The Barcelona final began with Medvedev serving. A backhand winner from Thiem was insufficient to prevent the Russian holding serve. Two winning Medvedev volleys perhaps indicated a match tactic of more often moving forward to the net, to thwart the consistent ground strokes of the Austrian.

A lengthy second game had Thiem in strife, down break point on three separate occasions. The first was saved by an overhead put away, the second by an effective kick serve. Thiem wasted two game points before the third break point arrived. This time it was converted, thanks to a Thiem backhand error. 2-0 Medvedev.

Medvedev consolidated the break, capitalising on Austrian mistakes. Thiem finally put a score on the board when he held serve in game four, then he broke back to love, a double fault and a series of Medvedev errors to blame. 

Games were levelled once Thiem held serve in game six, a drop shot simply wonderful.

Medvedev led 40-0 on the back of Austrian errors and a forcing backhand. Then he fell in a hole. Two backhand failures, another winning Thiem drop shot, and a netted Russian forehand, produced a break point. Thiem missed a golden opportunity to convert at the net, but gained a second chance after Medvedev again pushed a backhand wide. The break came and Thiem led 4-3, having won four games straight.

A second love game for the Austrian, this one on his own serve, extended the lead to 5-3. Thiem was displaying his full variety of shot making and imagination, placement close to perfection, limiting unforced errors to a minimum.

Medvedev led 40-30 when serving to stay in the set, but still couldn’t escape the clutches of Thiem who won the next two points (the second a double fault) and had set point. Significantly, Medvedev called for the trainer at this stage, apparently to treat a shoulder complaint. The set point was saved, and serve held, leaving Thiem to go to the line for it.

After receiving treatment on his shoulder, Medvedev saw Thiem hit a forehand winner on the way to a pair of set points. One saved by a Medvedev backhand moving forward to the net. The second was converted with a hammering forehand. 6-4 Thiem.

Set two was a complete whitewash. Thiem won 24 points to 5, breaking Medvedev three times, twice to love. The shoulder injury may have played a part, but the Austrian was well on top before that became a factor.

Dominic Thiem won the Barcelona Open 6-4 6-0, his 13th ATP Tour title.