Dominic Thiem defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0 in Sunday’s Barcelona Open final.  Austrian Thiem had earlier sent home Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-4 in the semis.

Thiem is looking strong ahead of the French Open.  Perennial favorite Rafael Nadal has not won two clay court tournaments back to back and is looking shaky on his favorite surface.

Thiem is the first Austrian winner in Barcelona since Thomas Muster.  Muster had won the tournament in 1995 and 1996.

“Winning this means a lot to me because it’s such a traditional and special tournament,” Thiem said. “Only great players have won here. Rafa has won it 11 times and it means a lot that Muster won it twice. It’s a big moment for me.”

“A title like this always gives you a lot of confidence, so I’ll be in a good mood going into Madrid,” Thiem said. “But the special thing about tennis is that I’ll start from zero in Madrid. All the guys there are really strong, so I’ll need to be ready from the first point.”