Dominic Thiem on US Open Final fightback: I was playing badly but never gave up

1/141
Matt Majendie @mattmajendie14 September 2020

Dominic Thiem became the first Grand Slam winner outside of tennis’ big three for four years as he recovered from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev in the final of the US Open.

History was always going to be made on Sunday night with Roger Federer injured, Rafael Nadal opting against travelling to New York and Novak Djokovic having petulantly got himself disqualified.

Thiem’s 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 victory meant he became the first Slam winner outside that trio since Stan Wawrinka in 2016 and a first maiden Grand Slam winner since Marin Cilic in 2014, both feats achieved at Flushing Meadows.

Whether the Austrian can now challenge the’ long-established hierarchy remains to be seen. For much of the final, neither man seemed willing to take it by the scruff of the neck.

Thiem struggled with both his nerves and fluidity of movement for the opening two sets while Zverev, with a chance to serve out the match, buckled leading 5-3 in the deciding set and again with two double faults in the ensuing tiebreak.

The 27-year-old Thiem said: “It was tough to stay in there and still believe. I said to myself ‘I’m playing bad, I’m way too tight, legs are heavy, arms are heavy’. But I always had hope that at one point I free up. Luckily it was not too late when I broke him back in the third. The belief was always there.”

In coming back from two sets down, Thiem pulled off a win no man had managed in the previous 71 versions of the US Open final.

A losing Grand Slam finalist on three occasions the 27-year-old had joked a call to Andy Murray would be his first in the wake of defeat (the Briton had lost four finals before his maiden victory at the 2012 US Open).

He said: “I definitely achieved a life goal, a dream which I had for many, many years. At one point I realised, wow, maybe one day I can really win one of the four biggest titles in tennis. I put a lot of work in. I dedicated my whole life until this point to win one of the four Majors. Now I did it. That’s a great accomplishment.”

For Zverev (below), it was heartache. The 23-year-old German will reflect on opportunities that went begging and allowing the nerves to get the better of him.

As both players broke protocol and the shackles of the traditional post-match racket bump for a warm embrace, Zverev showed the emotion of the occasion.

Getty Images

Paying tribute to his parents, who had tested positive for coronavirus in the build-up to the tournament but have since been given the all clear, he said: “I miss them. I’m sure they are pretty proud even though I lost. I wish one day I can bring the trophy home.”

Whether either can upset the big three is a moot point. Thiem arguably has the best chance at the French Open at the end of the month, the one player to have pushed Nadal close there of late.

“The question is how I’m going to do it with the emotions mentally,” he said. “With this goal achieved, I think and hope I’ll be a little bit more relaxed.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in