Mercedes Cup: Dominic Thiem secures 'dream' semi-final victory against Roger Federer in Stuttgart

Thiem reached the semi-finals of the recent French Open and has won five of his six titles on clay

Paul Newman
Saturday 11 June 2016 18:01 BST
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Dominic Thiem celebrates his semi-final victory
Dominic Thiem celebrates his semi-final victory

Dominic Thiem, who broke into the world’s top 10 for the first time this week, has enjoyed most of his success on clay but the 22-year-old Austrian proved that he can also be a major factor on quicker surfaces when he beat Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.

Thiem, who reached the semi-finals of the recent French Open and has won five of his six titles on clay, beat Federer 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 after saving two match points in the tie-break at the end of the second set.

“I can't believe it,” the world No 7 told the ATP’s official website. “To beat Federer on grass is a dream. You need a little bit of luck to beat him on his best surface. I am the happiest person on Earth now.”

Thiem had beaten Federer at the clay-court Masters Series tournament in Rome last month, which was the former world No 1’s previous tournament appearance. Federer pulled out of the French Open because of a back problem.

The other semi-final, between Juan Martin del Potro and Philipp Kohlschreiber, was held up by rain. Kohlschreiber was leading 6-3, 2-2 when the players came off court.

Both Federer and Thiem will continue their preparations for Wimbledon at next week’s tournament in Halle. Federer will start against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, while Thiem, who is in the other half of the draw, faces Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

The draw for next week’s Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club has given Andy Murray a tricky task in his opening match. The world No 2, who will be attempting to win the title for a record fifth time, has been paired with Nicolas Mahut, who beat him at the same stage of the tournament four years ago, though Murray earned his revenge a year later. Murray or Mahut will face either Britain’s Aljaz Bedene or France’s Benoit Paire in the second round.

Two of the three British wild cards in the draw also face French opposition. Dan Evans will play Paul-Henri Mathieu, while Kyle Edmund will face Gilles Simon. James Ward will meet Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller.

Stan Wawrinka, the second seed behind Murray, faces Fernando Verdasco, John Isner will play Juan Martin del Potro, while Milos Raonic will take on Nick Kyrgios in his first match since recruiting John McEnroe to his coaching team.

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