5 most recent players who made their Masters 1000 breakthrough

Modified Mar 05, 2020 07:42 GMT

Stefan Edberg won the first Masters 1000 title at 1990 Indian Wells.

#3 Dominic Thiem (2019 Indian Wells)

Dominic Thiem lifts his first Masters 1000 title at 2019 Indian Wells.

Long regarded as a claycourt specialist for his prowess on the surface, Dominic Thiem took a big step towards establishing himself as an all-court player when he lifted his first Masters 1000 title on the hardcourts of Indian Wells in 2019.

Successive straight-set wins over Jordan Thompson, Gilles Simon and Ivo Karlovic followed by a 'walkover' against Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals landed Thiem in his first Indian Wells semifinal. There, he wore down Milos Raonic in three sets to reach his third Masters 1000 title match.

Up against five-time champion Roger Federer, Thiem made a slow start to fall a set behind after 36 minutes. But to his credit, as Federer's level faded, Thiem's began to improve; the Austrian brought himself into contention by taking the second to restore parity.

In a competitive third set, Thiem stood two points from defeat at 4-5 30-30 on serve. But he played fearless tennis to hold serve, break Federer in the next game, and promptly serve out the win for his first Masters 1000 win.

The triumph made Thiem the only Austrian after Thomas Muster (1990 Rome) to lift a title in the tournament category.

Meet the newest world no. 3 Dominic Thiem

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 18 million reads so far.

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Edited by Musab Abid

5 most recent players who made their Masters 1000 breakthrough

#3 Dominic Thiem (2019 Indian Wells)

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Meet the newest world no. 3 Dominic Thiem