Austrian Dominic Thiem fought back from a set down to beat Phillip Kohlschreiber 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-4 in a rain-interrupted final at the Mercdes Cup in Stuttgart to clinch his fourth title of the year. The match was suspended by rain as Kohlschreiber was leading 3-2 in the tie-break of the first set.
Kohlschreiber was leading 2-0 over Thiem in their previous head-to-head matches and won their previous clash in the Munich final last April.
World Number 7 Thiem won his 45th match of his impressive season in which he lifted four titles in Buenos Aires, Acapulco, Nice and Stuttgart and reached the semifinal at the Roland Garros. Thiem has become the eighth active player to win four titles on three different surfaces (Acapulco on hard court, Nice and Buenos Aires on clay and Stuttgart on grass).
The match resumed on Monday at 3-2 for Kohlschreiber, who got a mini-break in the tie-break. The player from Augsburg won four consecutive points to win the breaker 7-2 after 59 minutes.
Thiem bounced back in the first game of the second set when he broke serve at deuce. The young Austrian rallied from 30-40 at 5-4 before facing another break point in a 14-point 10th game to hold his serve for 6-4.
Kohlschreiber, who won five of his seven titles and played his 10th final on home soil, fended off two break points from 15-40 in the first game of the decider. Thiem got the only break in the third game of the third set to take a 2-1 lead. Thiem held his serve to love to open up a 3-1 lead. Kohlschreiber earned just one break point in the eighth game but did not convert it. Thiem faced two more break points in the final game but held his serve at deuce with a half-volley.
