US Open—Flushing Meadows, New York
Austrian Dominic Thiem captured his maiden Grand Slam title on Sunday at the US Open, overcoming a two sets to love deficit to defeat Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6). In a match that took four hour and one minute to complete, both players showed visible nerves throughout the encounter.
Thiem, who had previously made three Major finals, dropped the first two sets in just over an hour and appeared to be headed for his fourth straight loss in the grandest of stages. However, down two sets, Thiem started to play with more margin and Zverev began to tighten up. Winning the third and fourth sets in convincing fashion, the fifth set showcased more unease from both players.
Zverev, who couldn’t serve out the match at 5-3, began to approach the net in the hopes of catching his opponent off guard. Winning 65 percent of his net approaches, Zverev won a mere 41 percent of his second serve points and lost his serve on seven occasions.
Thiem’s numbers weren’t much better as he hit 43 winners but committed 55 unforced errors. However, his top spin friendly game proved to be too much for his German opponent.
Losing in five sets to Novak Djokovic earlier this year in the Australian Open final, Thiem had also lost the last two French Open finals to Rafael Nadal. He is currently ranked No. 3 in the world.
Zverev, who was competing in his first Slam final, overcame a two sets to love deficit in the semifinals to advance against Pablo Carreno Busta. Zverev is currently ranked No. 7 in the world.
