Thiem overcomes injury to beat Zverev and defend Nice clay-court title
Top seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem overcame a late arm injury scare to defeat German teenager Alexander Zverev 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 on Saturday and retain his Nice clay-court title.
Thiem, the world number 15 who stunned Roger Federer at the Rome Masters last week, claimed the sixth title of his career in a timely boost ahead of the French Open which starts in Paris on Sunday.
Zverev, just 19 and ranked 48 in the world, was playing in his first tour final and was 4-2 up in the first set against his close friend.
But Thiem rallied and was 2-0 ahead in the second set, seemingly poised for a straightforward victory.
However, the highly-rated Zverev won six of the next seven games to force a decider.
Thiem summoned the trainer at the interval to have his right arm massaged and the treatment worked wonders as he claimed 24 of the 29 points in the third set to take victory.