GSTAAD (AFP) – Dominic Thiem yesterday reached his first ATP Tour semi-final since May 2021 with a straight-sets victory over Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas in Gstaad.
The former US Open champion won 6-4, 6-3 and will next face either second seed Matteo Berrettini or Pedro Martinez as he looks to make a first final since the 2020 ATP Finals. Thiem missed the second half of last year due to a wrist injury and lost his first six Tour matches this season.
“I failed to serve out at (5-2 in the first set), but it was also the nerves a little bit because it is my first semi-final in one and a half years,” said Thiem, who also reached the quarter-finals in Bastad last week.
“I need the points to go back up the rankings. I was happy I was able to break the nerves.”
Thiem, currently ranked 274th but now set to return to the top 200, will be hoping to win an 18th ATP title this weekend.
