Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a long battle with home player Dominic Thiem to win their clash at the Vienna Open in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The World No. 7 has had a tough few months since his victory at the Los Cabos Open in early August, suffering a string of early exits. However, he was able to reach the semi-finals of the European Open last week and it seems as though he has carried this momentum into the ATP 500 tournament in Austria.

It was clear that the match was not going to be easy for either player from the beginning, as they held their serve and denied each other a single break point in the opening set.

Eventually, a tiebreak was required, with Thiem gaining an initial lead by sticking comfortably to the baseline and taking advantage of Tsitsipas' unforced errors.

However, the Greek player was able to fight back in order to secure a set point at 6-5, which he successfully converted to clinch the opener.

Thiem began the second set by fighting back to take Tsitsipas' first service game to a deuce, much to the delight of the former's home crowd at the Wiener Stadthalle. However, after a long back-and-forth, Tsitsipas was able to maintain a crucial hold.

Following this, Thiem appeared somewhat distracted after his narrow loss in the last game, which led Tsitsipas to break him and push ahead. Although the Austrian player was able to avoid a double break, he was unable to level the set and his opponent successfully served for the match.

Tsitsipas will face Czech qualifier Tomas Machac in the next round. His win here against the 2020 US Open champion will also serve as encouragement as he aims for a deep run to help him qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, which will take place in November.