US Open: Dominic Thiem gets his slam victory after four finals, first Austrian in decades

Dominic Thiem won his first grand slam championship at the U.S. Open with a comeback fight of his life.

We knew it would be a tight match and the U.S. Open final between Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem did not disappoint. Both players wanted to prove themselves to make their first grand slam win and they put everything on the line with a five-set thriller in the biggest game of their life. It came to a pivotal tie break and who could steal his nerves under the bright lights of Arthur Ashe.

Ultimately, it was Dominic Thiem who came up with the goods, winning his first grand slam title, 2-6, 4-6, 6-5, 6-3, 7-6(6), and making history as the new U.S. Open men’s champion.

‘Sascha’ Zverev came out of the gate smoking, with full confident swagger and resilient serve, exactly what he needed to dictate the momentum of the match. From his pre-match interview, Zverev looked like he didn’t look nervous at all and quickly progressed to capture the first two sets with ease. In those sets, Dominic Thiem looked like a pale comparison of the fighting player who had only dropped one set out of all his matches at the U.S. Open. Perhaps his right foot injury was bothering him. Maybe it was haunted memories of the three finals he’s lost prior. Whatever ghosts Domi Thiem was facing, the 23-year-old German took full advantage and let his serve do the rest.

But a warrior awoke within the 27-year-old Austrian. Or maybe he traded first slam title nerves with Zverev. Whatever it was, Thiem gave the German player the fight right back and flipped a switch to regain the momentum, in turn breaking Zverev to fight for his chance at a first slam trophy.

The tie break in the fifth was a testy exchange of nerves. The foot cramps came back to wreak havoc with Thiem’s momentum. Zverev’s reliable serve wasn’t the same weapon that propelled him through the first two sets. Exhausted, both men battled for every point in the fifth. It came down to the last man standing. In the end, it was Thiem, who was just a bit hungrier, and maybe just a fraction better at controlling his physicality, and exhaustingly pulled through to whiz the points right past Zverev.

Both Domi Thiem and Sascha Zverev had a lot to prove as next-gen sensations. But after four tries, Thiem managed to convert the title Finalist to Grand Slam Champion. Battling foot cramps, he hit the point of his life right before Zverev hit the defining point long. Thiem’s tireless work rewarded the Austrian player with his first grand slam title. He collapsed on the ground and took in the moment. His good friend Zverev crossed the net to offer his congratulations.

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It’s a shame there were no crowds to cheer on the dramatic match. Spectators would have loved every minute of the tense tie break especially. But hopefully, fans will be back next year.

Thiem lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final earlier this year and to Rafael Nadal twice in Roland Garros finals, but this time, the win belonged to Dominic Thiem, the first Austrian male player since Thomas Muster in 1995 to earn a grand slam win. He was also the first man in 70 years to come back from two sets down to win a five-set U.S. Open final. Pretty incredible stat that Thiem owns.