Dominic Thiem outlasts Milos Raonic to set up Roger Federer date

ATP Tour
Dominic Thiem - Barcelona Open quarter-finalist again

Dominic Thiem produced a brilliant display to hold off Milos Raonic in the BNP Paribas Open semi-final with his reward a final clash against Roger Federer.

The Austrian took two hours and 31 minutes to come out on top of the 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 scoreline.

Thiem brought his A-game as he dropped just 24 points on his serve, but Raonic was equal to the task for most of the match.

After no breaks of serve in the opening two sets, the seventh seed finally got the crucial one in game five of the decider.

Raonic, though, eked out a break point in the final game of the match, but Thiem held firm and got the job done on his second match point.

He will face Federer in the final after the five-time champion booked his place in Sunday’s showdown following Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal due to injury.

“It’s always something special to play Roger and also something special to compete in Masters 1000 finals,” said Thiem.

“It’s only my third one. I have pretty bad stats in the finals, so I know it’s going to be very tough, but at the same time, I will give everything to hopefully win my first title.”

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