And it did not come easy.
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But the Swiss bounced back when the 2014 US Open victor was serving for the set at 5-3 and forced a tie-break.
This is the two-time Grand Slam champion’s 14th career title and his third title of the year after triumphs early on in the year at Chennai and Dubai.
Alexander Zverev saved two match points to beat second-seeded Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (1) and book a spot in the semifinals of the Nice Open on Thursday.
Thiem’s other titles this year were on outdoor hard court at Acapulco and outdoor clay at Buenos Aires. Overall, this is his sixth career title.
The 15th-ranked Thiem, top seed at the ATP 250 event, won 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 in one hour and 39 minutes to claim a place alongside former French Open champions Bjorn Borg and Ilie Nastase as a double victor on the French Riviera. This time his momentum was arrested through no fault of his own, a nosebleed forcing him to take a medical timeout after he had broken to take a 4-2 lead in the opening set.
Thiem’s second win over Zverev this season also marks the Austrian’s 36th victory in 2016.
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After the second set Thiem would seek the aid of the trainer for an ailing right shoulder, but the 22-year-old world No. 15 was undeterred.
