Preview of the final match by Lawrence Frankopan
There is one truth about the finals: always the best reach it. Although we have been watching top tennis and spectacular fights all week long, the 26th Konzum Croatia Open in Umag have been marked by two names: Dominic Thiem and Joao Sousa.
Their names may have not been mentioned before the tournament in the innermost circle of the favorites for the title, into which Gael Monfils, Fabio Fognini, Borna Ćorić were pushed... but they showed why they will be playing today at 8 p.m. for the title. Umag will get its first Portuguese or second Austrian winner in history. Will Dominic Thiem step into the footsteps of his famous compatriot Thomas Muster? His ATP ranking gives him the right to be called the favorite, but for the second ATP title of his career, the second this year after Nice, he will have to play very, very good tennis.
Dominic Thiem is the second Austrian after Muster who has ever reached the finals in Umag. On the eve of the tournament I received a lot of questions about Stan Wawrinka and his potential participation in the tournament. Since Stan could not come, at least in the final we will have his "mini" version, which, according to what we have seen, will soon become a "maxi" version. In the first two matches of the tournament Thiem's opponents had to give up, but last night he played a great match against Gael Monfils. Thanks to the second and third set, where he was truly the Dominator, he must feel confident before the final.
On the other hand Sousa had a tougher road to the final he beat Seppi, Fognini and Bautista Agut. He is the first Portuguese in history of the ATP Tour to win a title (Kuala Lumpur in 2013) and is seeking now his second title. With the energetic approach he showed in Umag, he can surely cause a lot of problems to Thiem.
Umag will get its 20th winner. Will either Thiem or Sousa win the second ATP title of their career? Find out today at 8 p.m. in the beautiful "shell" in Stella Maris.
