It's been a very good year for Austrian star Dominic Thiem so far. Fresh off his first grass court title in Stuttgart, the world number seven kept the good times rolling, this time in Northern Germany. 

Thiem, appearing to take an ever-increasing liking to grass, beat Joao Sousa 7-5 6-4. The higher ranked player would break the Portuguese player in both sets, avoiding, any tiebreaks to claim victory at the Gerry Weber Open

Playing for two

Seeking his second title in as many weeks, the Austrian got off to a good start. He held serve with relative ease, using a new look in his service game. Thiem is now serving much harder than he has done previously and is backing that up with his willingness to take more approaches at the net or take returns in the air. 

Ironically, Sousa seemed to have the upper hand on a point-by-point basis, at least to begin the match. The Portuguese number one rarely lost a point in the first couple of games in which he was serving. He would eventually run into trouble, however.

Thiem broke Sousa in the eleventh game of the first set. He would then go on to hold and clinch 7-5, avoiding what looked to be a first set that needed to be decided by a tiebreaker.

Another win on grass

Though Thiem was able to convert his first break opportunity in the first set, he wouldn't be so lucky in the second set. It was the Austrian who was pushed to the brink as he struggled to hold serve in just his first service game of the set. Facing a break point, he would then go on to win every single remaining point in the game after a costly error by Sousa. That would be the only time Thiem, who was playing in his 57th match of the season, would face a break point. Indeed, his crafty work to turn the tables would ensure the Austrian didn't lose serve once in the match. 

The same could not be said for Sousa. Later in the set, the 30th ranked player in the world faced yet another break point. Swift reaction and sloppy play by his opponent led to Sousa being able to save the break point. But Thiem would challenge him again and this time, he would break through. 

Joao Sousa proved no match for the serves and volley of Dominic Thiem. (Photo: Getty Images)
Joao Sousa proved no match for the serves and volley of Dominic Thiem. (Photo: Getty Images)

The only saving grace for Sousa was that he did manage to make Thiem pay, at times, for his serve-and-volley technique. More than once in the match, the Austrian sent a powerful service across the net only to be burned. In his usual technique, he would dive in for a clinching shot and looked up to see Sousa send a forehand or backhand right past him to win the point.

However, more often than not, Thiem's approaches to the net worked beautifully. And it flummoxed his opponent so much that he at times had great difficulty in deciding how and where to fit in his returns. That was the case in the final point of the match. 

Thiem sent a blistering serve across the net. Sousa, in a mark of indecision, played it safe with a normal return. Thiem had not broken into the volley, however. The result was a rally shot at Sousa's forehand. He returned it wide and handed Thiem the match. 

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