ATP Madrid: Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman miss double titles!
Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman missed the title at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. The two good friends lost 2-6 and 3-6 in the final to Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: May 12, 2019, 05:02 pm
by Nikolaus Fink from Madrid
Many people had not found their way to the Esatadio Manolo Santana for the double final between Diego Schwartzman / Dominic Thiem and Jean-Julien Rojer / Horia Tecau. Despite the sold-out closing day, numerous seats in the stadium, which seats almost 12,500 spectators, remained empty.
From the start, however, the spectators who were present got to see an entertaining match in which the much more experienced pairing Rpjer / Tecau secured the first break to make it 3-1 after a deficit of 40:40. Thiem and Schwartzman managed the immediate rebreak, but had to give up their serve game for 2: 4 again a little later.
A class difference was slowly but surely emerging. Thiem and Schwartzman often lacked the necessary coordination, and the duo also had enormous problems with their own serve. Rojer and Tecau showed why they have been among the world's best double teams for years. Consequently, the first set after another break went to the Wimbledon champions of 2015.
Mini comeback stopped immediately in the second set
The most curious scene of the game then took place in the second game of the second set. Thiem served a good kick-up but lost his racket. Tecau returned exactly to the Schwartzmans racket and the Argentinean secured his team the point with a stable volley despite the small misfortune
The Dutchman and his Romanian partner clearly remained the better pairing. Again they managed an early break to 3: 1, which they were able to confirm this time. In the next game, the two missed two choices. This should take revenge immediately: Thiem and Schwartzman played their best game of the match so far and came 3: 4.
The joy, however, was short-lived: Schwartzman, who never played his serve in the entire match, had to give up his service game again and gave Rojer / Tecau the opportunity to win the match. Tecau served well and, after a clear 6: 2 and 6: 3 victory, fixed the title win in the Spanish capital after 70 minutes.
Next stop: Rome
"We really enjoyed it," said Diego Schwartzman after the game. "Thanks to you for an unbelievable week. It was a lot of fun. I wish you a lot of fun in the individual final today. I love this tournament," Thiem explained a little later.
Thiem therefore failed to crown an outstanding Austrian double week. Before that, Jürgen Melzer, Philipp Oswald and Jurij Rodionov each secured the title at Challenger tournaments . For Thiem and Schwartzman, the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome will continue next week - the Austrian will also compete in the double competition in the Italian capital alongside his compatriot Jürgen Melzer.