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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Dominic Thiem capped an impressive week to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday, securing his second title of the year.

The fifth-ranked Austrian beat Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0 on Sunday, a day after he was dominant against Rafael Nadal in the semifinals to become the first player other than Novak Djokovic to defeat the Spaniard on clay four times.

Thiem, who didn’t lose a set all week in Barcelona, had beaten Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final last month.

Thiem is the first Austrian winner in Barcelona since Thomas Muster, who won in 1995 and 1996.

“Winning this means a lot to me because it’s such a traditional and special tournament,” Thiem said. “Only great players have won here. Rafa has won it 11 times and it means a lot that Muster won it twice. It’s a big moment for me.”

Thiem had lost to Nadal in the Barcelona final two years ago. It was his first final on clay since last year’s French Open, when he also lost to the Spaniard.

The 14th-ranked Medvedev, coming off a semifinal appearance in Monte Carlo, was playing in his first clay court final. He has reached at least the semifinals in five of his nine tournaments this season and has a tour-best 25 wins in 2019.

The 23-year-old Russian started well by taking a 3-0 lead with an early break in the first set, but he was never in contention again after Thiem took control of a match that lasted just more than an hour.

Thiem dropped only five points in the second set, winning 14 in a row at one stage. He won 12 of the last 13 games.

“I tried my best, but Dominic was too good today,” Medvedev said. “At one point, even just getting a point off him was a great achievement.”

It was the 13th career singles title for the 25-year-old Thiem, the ninth on clay. He next plays in Madrid, where he has been runner-up the last two seasons.

“A title like this always gives you a lot of confidence, so I’ll be in a good mood going into Madrid,” Thiem said. “But the special thing about tennis is that I’ll start from zero in Madrid. All the guys there are really strong, so I’ll need to be ready from the first point.”

*AP