Philipp Kolschreiber Defeats Dominic Thiem To Win Third Munich Title

German tennis star Philipp Kolschreiber won his third ATP Tournament in Munich Sunday after defeating Austrian Dominic Thiem in the finals, and was promptly presented with a pair of traditional leather Bavarian pants or lederhosen as part of his prize.

Philipp Kolschreiber Defeats Dominic Thiem To Win Third Munich Title

Kohlshreiber, 32, previously won the 2007 and 2012 titles. The Augsburg, Bavaria, native ran out the 7-6 (9/7), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) winner after a huge battle in the final which lasted just under two and a half hours.

“This is a great tournament and has been something of a lucky charm for me,” said Kohlschreiber, who collected 82,450 euros in prize money, a new sports car, and a luxury pair of lederhosen.

After losing the first set on a tie-breaker, Thiem, 22, rallied to win the second, breaking Kohlschreiber to go 4-3 up as the set then followed serve.

The German squandered two match points at 5-4 up in the third before Thiem broke back to take the game to a second tie-breaker.

“Unbelievable. Great story the whole week. Great performance. Huge final,” Kohlschreiber said. “I’m very happy and pleased with my performance.”

He also stated that he believes his opponent has a shot at winning the tournament someday. “Dominic made life very difficult for me today,” Kohlschreiber added. “My time here is coming to an end and he will win the tournament sometime.”

Kolschreiber has now won seven ATP titles in his career. He lost to Scotland’s Andy Murray in last year’s Munich final.

Thiem, the world No. 15, has already racked up 26 victories and two titles this season.

Kolschreiber, ranked 27th in the world, earned his way to his fifth Munich final after seeing off compatriot Florian Mayer, Argentine Juan Martin del Potro and Italian Fabio Fognini en route.

The win improves the Augsburg native to 2-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Thiem, who was playing in his seventh career final.

“It was a very close final, attractive for the crowd, for sure. It was very painful for me but Philipp was the better player today, and he deserves to win,” Thiem said. “Almost every final is close because both players never give up. They want to win the title. I’ve won the last five finals… now I’ve lost one. It’s no tragedy, especially against Philipp.”

PHOTO: MUNICH, GERMANY – MAY 01: Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany plays a forehand during his finale match against Dominic Thiem of Austria of the BMW Open at Iphitos tennis club on May 1, 2016 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images For BMW)

Article by Pablo Mena