As the Laver Cup was coming to it's climax on Sunday in Chicago with Team Europe looking to seal a second win in 2 years over Team World there was a mightily impressive hard court final going on over in St Petersburg the same day. Dominic Thiem was looking to cement his best hard court season of his career thus far with a win over an opponent he has never beaten before - Martin Klizan in the final of the St. Petersburg Open. Here I will discuss why he is now an excellent outside bet for the upcoming Shanghai Masters.

Martin Klizan was dreaming of a 7th ATP title in 7 finals to make history (no player has ever accomplished this) - he would have gone down in history with quiet an accomplishment not achieved by the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic plus any previous legend of the game in the ATP era. There was just one problem for Klizan, standing on the other-side of the court was a guy who was hitting shots like lightning bolts and if you thought Klizan was a power player of great proportions he had truly met more than his match in the shape of Thiem.

Thiem was coming off an excellent US Open hard court run that saw him reach the Quarter Finals and almost defeat Rafa Nadal taking him to a final set tie break. Many argued that match took all the juice out of Nadal who seemed to physically struggle against Del Potro in the Semi's before withdrawing.

Before the final Klizan looked a real threat to Thiem having won all 3 of their previous encounters plus having taken all 6 of his title opportunities. He had also taken out World Number 13 Fabio Fogini in straight sets, beaten a surging Stan Wawrinka and upcoming Canadian hotshot Dennis Shapovalov to reach the final.

Power & Accuracy on a Totally Different Level Shows Thiem is Ready for Shanghai

But throughout the final Thiem was hitting the ball with a level of power and accuracy on a totally different level to Klizan. He seemed to wear down the Slovakian and overwhelm him landing countless winners and shots flirting with the line, especially in the second set. The Austrian was playing the sort of tennis we saw when he defeated Nadal in Madrid earlier this year and the French Open last year in three straight sets.

His single handed backhand improves for every year that goes by and it was on full display here. Thiem use to play with a double handed backhand when he was a kid, then his coach made the switch at the age of 12 years. He lost a whole years worth of matches having been the number 1 Austrian under 12 player he fell to 15th. But over the years as his experienced grew he successfully made the transition into adulthood nurturing a potent single hander which he has learned to adapt to the likes of Nadal's heavy top spin shots.

Having adapted his backhand to cope with deep top spin shots being able to brush up the ball and counter those shots with deep returns of his own he has a two pronged shot where he can also flatten them out turning on the aggression in a similar fashion to Federer. He has the ability to generate the sort of power off his backhand a double handed player could only dream of.

Thiem's forehand needs no introduction, he hits one of the fastest and flattest in the game and his power was on show for all to see in the final. Check out the highlights below where in the second set he destroys Klizan 6-1.

Watch: Thiem Overwhelm Klizan with his Power and Accuracy at the St Petersburg Final

A Great Outside Bet for the Shanghai Masters (7th to 14th October)

Thiem's win in St Petersburg on a hard court cannot be underestimated or overlooked. This is a player who has defeated Nadal on clay in the French last year and on his day can wipe anyone off the court including Federer too. He is still developing his hard court game and gaining in confidence for every tournament he plays on the surface. The way he destroyed a surging Klizan in St Petersburg was very impressive, a score line not many could produce against the Slovakian.

In Shanghai, a tournament packed with stars namely: Federer, Del Potro, Zverev, Djokovic, Anderson and Cilic - Thiem's odds of winning will be high making him an excellent outside bet. His main threat in Shanghai will be Del Potro where he is 0 - 4 against the Argentinian Tower. But with his hard court experience developing nicely he has a shot of recording his first win against 'the Tower' in Shanghai. Here is his record vs the major competition in Shanghai:

Thiem's Head to Head Record vs Competition

vs Del Potro 0 - 4

vs Federer 2 - 1

vs Zverev 5 - 2

vs Anderson 2 - 7 (though he has won both meetings this year)

vs Cilic 1 - 0

The odds are yet to be offered by the bookies for Shanghai but be sure to keep an eye on them and if your looking for an outside bet coming up in tennis, this is definitely one to consider, Thiem will be overlooked and overshadowed by players with higher rankings here and of course the big names Federer and Del Potro.

Betting / dominic thiem

Thiem Strikes with Lightning Precision in St Petersburg: Excellent Outside Bet for Shanghai