Dominic Thiem wins incredible 3-hour match against Paul in Vienna

Dominic Thiem battled hard and ultimately got rewarded for his efforts as he defeated Tommy Paul 2-6 7-6(2) 7-6(6).

It was a crazy match as both players produced an incredible level that made it very interesting until the end. The Vienna crowd is known for being quite loud and they certainly were towards the end of the match. Paul opened well hitting the ball incredibly well and taking a 3-0 lead. He won 12 of the first 14 points and cruised to a 6-2 opening set finish.

The Austrian responded well in the second set playing much better but Paul was just incredible applying heavy pressure on Thiem who had to save break points. Paul saved some on his serve as well and we eventually arrived at a tiebreak.

The tiebreak was played spectacularly by Thiem who was getting to every ball and eventually Paul had to stop for a while. The American sprayed a few errors and it was enough for Thiem to get it done 7-2. We were heading to an epic final set and it certainly delivered. Thiem had 40-15 on his opponent's serve in the first game but failed to convert his chances.

Paul did in the next game jumping out to a 3-0 lead. He held it easily until 5-3 when Thiem produced another beautiful game to break back. It was settled in a tiebreak where Thiem opened 3-0 but Paul fought back to and make it 6-4. He was two set points with Thiem closing out 8-6.