Dominic Thiem, a star many tennis pundits have predicted could be the next big thing, has just been shown the door by Kevin Anderson at the Citi Open in Washington D.C. In a tough three set match, Kevin Anderson would prevail over the Austrian, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (7).
It was in no way an easy match for either player. It was long, tough, grueling, and the rhythm of the match was shaken up by the rain at this year's CIti Open.
The match would go on to be 2 hours and 46 minutes, and if you throw in the 3 hour rain delay, it was a tough 6 hours for the two players.
Kevin Anderson controls the first set
Anderson started off on top in the first set. He quickly took control and would break Anderson to get the momentum on his side. It seemed as if Anderson would easily get his 5-0 head to head record against Thiem to 6-0, but things weren't going to be that easy for the South African.
In the second set, Anderson was struggling to find his groove and break Thiem to take the lead. In fact, no one was broken throughout the duration of the second.
Thiem was not going to back down without a fight. In a tough second set tiebreaker, Thiem would manage to eek out the set and ride that momentum into the third set as well.
Thiem Misses Match Point Opportunity At Citi Open
In the third set it really seemed like Thiem, the number one seed of the tournament, and seventh seed in the world, would win the match. Although no one was broken in the second set, Thiem managed to break Anderson twice to make the score 4-3 in his favor. Anderson would use that height and serve of his to break back, making it 5-5.
The third set tiebreaker is where things really became tense. At 5-6, Thiem had a match point, but would not be able to convert. Instead, Anderson would keep his nerve and convert on his second match point opportunity, advancing to the quarterfinal of the Citi Open.
Thiem Shows Great Sportsmanship At Citi Open
Even though Thiem lost, he bowed out like a true sportsperson. Thiem showed the world that sportsmanship isn't dead and managed to win the heart of the crowd by indicating to Anderson that he may want to challenge a particularly close call.
After losing the first set, Thiem signaled to Anderson that his return was in, even after the linesman called the ball out. He prompted Anderson to challenge the call, something that doesn't happen very often in professional tennis at such a competitive level.
Anderson didn't want to waste a challenge over the call though and Thiem would concede the point.
Even though Thiem is out of Citi Open, he's made his way into the hearts of many.