Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem will be squaring off for the 11th time in their careers when they clash in a marquee first-round matchup at the Erste Bank Open on Tuesday evening.
They have split their 10 previous meetings at five wins apiece, and if their most recent encounters are any indication the Vienna faithful are in for a fun one. In the Wimbledon opening round this summer, Tsitsipas scored a 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(8) victory. That was preceded by a Madrid Masters showdown that also went the distance, with Greek prevailing 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5). Dating back to the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals, three of their last four contests have required a final-set tiebreaker. Every one of their last five matches have gone to a deciding set.
This is not, however, a battle between players in peak form. Tsitsipas is just 14-12 in his last 26 matches dating back to the French Open quarterfinals. The 25-year-old’s fall swing includes a Davis Cup loss to Alex Molcan, a first-round exit from Beijing (lost to Nicolas Jarry), a third-round result at the Shanghai Masters (lost to Ugo Humbert), and a semifinal showing in Antwerp (lost to Arthur Fils).
Thiem’s comeback from 2021 wrist surgery has been slow going. The 2020 U.S. Open champion is struggling down at 99th in the rankings, but has shown signs of life with his competitive matches against Tsitsipas, a recent runner-up performance in Kitzbuhel, and a quarterfinal effort in Astana.
Thiem is back in front of an Austrian crowd and he has generally played well in such situations throughout his career. He knows he can hang with Tsitsipas and home-court advantage could get him over the hump–especially on an indoor hard-court surface that is not great for the world No. 7’s game.
Pick: Thiem in 3
who ya got?
Domigoat in 3
Thiem in 2