Dominic Thiem rallies from set down to reach Austria Open semi-finals, Grigor Dimitrov wins at Citi Open

Dominic Thiem put his supporters through the wringer before beating Arthur Rinderknech to reach the semi-finals of the Austria Open.

Home favourite Thiem won the tournament back in 2019, at a time when he was one of the top players in the sport.

A wrist injury hit him hard after winning the US Open in 2020, but he is back on the up and two wins away from a second title in Kitzbuhel.

Rinderknech looked like being the villain of the piece when breaking in the first game of the match and taking the opening set on the back of that solitary break.

Thiem, who served two double faults in the opening set, was much better in the second and three aces and one break of serve helped him level the match.

With a partisan crowd roaring him on, Thiem found the one break of serve he required to wrap up a 4-6 6-3 6-4 success in two hours and 21 minutes.

“It was another great, great night here,” Thiem, who rallied from a set down for a second match in a row, said. “The first game was horrible but from then on it was really good against an opponent who is playing great tennis at the moment.”

Thiem will face Laslo Djere in the semi-finals following the latter’s 6-4 6-2 win over Pedro Cachin.

“It’s my first semi-final of the year and I couldn’t have chosen a better place,” Thiem added. “Everything is coming together here.

“The incredible support of the home crowd is something I can rely on every single match, which is such a huge advantage for me. I also have a lot of experience playing here. It’s my 13th or 14th time. I am super happy to be in the last four.”

Sebastian Baez eased past Alex Molcan in straight sets and will take on top seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry after the latter battled back from a set down to beat Daniel Elahi Galan 6-7(6) 6-3 6-4.

At the Citi Open in Washington, Grigor Dimitrov was a 6-4 6-3 winner over Emil Ruusuvuori.

Dimitrov, resurgent of late, was on top for much of the match and pulled out one stunning retrieval late in the second set to show his enduring quality.

There was an upset in the WTA event in the American capital, as No. 2 seed Caroline Garcia suffered a 6-2 6-3 defeat to Marta Kostyuk.