Watch: Hilarious scenes in Kitzbuhel as Sebastian Baez and Dominic Thiem struggle to open celebratory champagne after final
Sebastian Baez won his third ATP Tour title at the 2023 Austrian Open in Kitzbuhel, defeating Dominic Thiem in the final on Saturday, August 5.
Baez quashed the home favorite's challenge in an hour and 21 minutes to win his second title of the year. The Argentine broke Thiem's serve four times, once in the first set and thrice in the second, to ease his way to a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Baez relied on his heavy hitting and groundstrokes to nullify the electrifying home support for Thiem in Austria.
After an intense battle, both players shared a laugh as they struggled to pop the cork of their hefty celebratory champagne bottles during the trophy ceremony, to the crowd's amusement.
The Argentine even asked for a towel to help him open the bottle, with Thiem copying his tactic. In the end, Baez somehow managed to open the bottle first and took a sip before pouring some champagne on Thiem.
We've all been there š¾
Think you should stick to tennis, boys š
#GeneraliOpen | @domithiem | @sebaabaez7 pic.twitter.com/wKrxjFdtUY
The 22-year-old Argentine candidly apologized to the crowd at Kitzbuhel after downing their home hero and received a standing ovation for his words. He also thanked fans for making him feel comfortable and expressed his delight after a successful week of tennis.
"I know all the people here wanted Domi (Thiem) to win because he's from here, so... sorry! Iām happy not just for today, but the whole week. All the people, the crowd, made me feel so comfortable here this week," Baez said.
"Sorry!" š
@sebaabaez7 apologises to the Kitzbuhel crowd after defeating Thiem!
#GeneraliOpen pic.twitter.com/r502DL67az
All of Sebastian Baez's titles have come on claycourt. Earlier this year, he won his second Tour-level title at his home tournament, the Cordoba Open, in February. His first title came at the 2022 Estoril Open in Portugal.
Dominic Thiem played in his first ATP Tour final since 2020 at Kitzbuhel
Before beginning his campaign at the Austrian Open via a wildcard, Dominic Thiem was having a hard time stitching together consecutive wins on the ATP Tour.
Despite playing some thrilling matches in recent weeks, most notably the five-set rollercoaster against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Wimbledon, Thiem was not able to convert good performance into victories. He had last won two tour matches in a row at the Munich Open in April.
However, all that changed at his home tournament, where he not only won four consecutive matches but also reached his first ATP Tour final since the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals. Dominic Thiem, ranked World No. 116 before the Austrian Open, bettered Facundo Bagnis, Zhang Zhizhen, Arthur Rinderknech, and Laslo Djere on his way to the final.
Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion, will break into the top 100 once again, jumping 26 spots to become the World No. 90 after gaining 130 points as Austrian Open runners-up.