Stefanos Tsitsipas on nail-biting win over Thiem in Madrid: “I knew I was dealing with something big”

Stefanos Tsitsipas held off an inspired upset bid from Dominic Thiem at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday night, twice serving to stay in the match—and then battling back from 3-1 down in the third set tie-break—to edge the 2020 US Open champion, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5).

“Well, it was very physical, and I think we both played out best,” Tsitsipas said following the two-hour, 19-minute encounter. “You know, it’s definitely the kind of first-round match you come here to watch, so I’m in a way happy that we were able to show that kind of tennis.

“Everyone wants it easy, everyone wants it to come in the perfect way, but today showed what kind of intensity two guys that play single-handed backhand can bring tennis to, so I’m happy I got away with a win. Things weren’t easy at the very end, but I just kept fighting.”

After dropping the first set, the No. 4-seeded Tsitsipas raced through the second set in just 28 minutes—but from there it was neck and neck as neither player dropped serve in the third set, with 12 consecutive holds taking them through to the deciding tie-break. After going down a mini-break, Tsitsipas bounced back and eventually clinched the victory on his second match point when Thiem hit a forehand into the net.

“It took time to adjust, I won’t lie. But I just stayed calm,” Tsitsipas said about having to claw his way back from a set down. “I had confidence in my tennis, and I knew that bit by bit I would be able to fight back, and my confidence showed in that second set where I was just serving very well, and started finding my rhythm on the returns.

“The third set was just pure fight. He’s not someone who’s going to give up, and he hates even giving the slightest to you in terms of free points.

"So I knew I was dealing with something big.”

Though he didn’t get the victory, it was still a very encouraging performance from Thiem—he had lost his last eight matches in a row against Top 10 players in straight sets, and combined with losing the last two sets of the Top 10 match-up before that, a total of 19 sets in a row.

The 2020 US Open champion snapped that streak by winning the first set against Tsitsipas, and nearly snapped the overall streak in the end.

It was the pair’s first meeting since Thiem beat Tsitsipas in the round-robin stage of the 2020 ATP Finals, and their ninth meeting overall, with Thiem still leading the overall head-to-head series, 5-4.