Tsitsipas Lands 39 Straight First Serves In Comeback vs. Thiem

Stefanos Tsitsipas completed a dramatic comeback against Dominic Thiem with victory in a third-set tie-break on Saturday night at the Mutua Madrid Open. In a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) triumph, the Greek used a flawless serving performance to shift the tone of the match, then battled back from 1/3 in the decisive tie-break after seeing five break points go begging on return at 5-5.

The Greek made 39 straight first serves spanning from late in the opening set to early in the third, and he won 88 per cent (50/57) per cent of his overall first-serve points in the contest.

"That's fantastic, 39 is a lot," Tsitsipas said of the streak. "That shows that perhaps I improved today on my serve. That's a positive mark for me. I think I just owe it all to fluidity and just being relaxed on my serve... I think it's just pure relaxation and focus."

With victory in the pair's first meeting since the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals, Tsitsipas closed the gap to 4-5 in their ATP Head2Head series, including a 2-1 mark on clay. Both competitors are former finalists in Madrid, with Tsitsipas reaching the 2019 title match and Thiem finishing runner-up in 2017 and 2018.

The last man in the Madrid singles draw to book his third-round ticket, Tsitsipas will next face 25th seed Sebastian Baez, who beat Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 earlier on Saturday.

A semi-finalist last year in the Spanish capital, Tsitsipas entered this year's event on the heels of a run to the Barcelona final, where he was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz. But Thiem halted his momentum in the opening set with an aggressive game plan built around heavy cuts from the forehand wing. The Austrian saved three break points to consolidate his early break and build a 4-1 lead en route to claiming the first set.

Behind his stellar serving, Tsitsipas dominated the second set as Thiem's forehand began to misfire, with the Greek driving home his advantage with a slew of well-timed drop shot.

Thiem stayed in front in the final set behind several battling holds, none more dramatic than his final service game, in which both players produced some of their best tennis with the match on the line. After five deuces and more than 11 minutes, Thiem escaped. But Tsitsipas won four straight points to lead 5/3 in the tie-break and clinched victory on his second match point.

More to follow...