The second seeded Dominic Thiem beat the fifth seed Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) in 4 hours 2 minutes to win US Open 2020 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Thiem captured his first career Grand Slam title and became the first player to win this tournament after trailing two innings in the final since 1949.
When the match ended, when Zverev sent his shot to the sidelines, Thiem collapsed to the ground. The German, who was also two points away from enjoying a first Grand Slam title, walked towards the net to shake hands and hug his opponent.
“We’ve known each other since 2014, we became friends straight away and our rivalry started in 2016. It’s amazing where it all got us today. I really would have liked there to be two winners tonight, we both deserved it,” Thiem said.
“It’s the first of your many Grand Slam titles, no doubt. It was a tough battle, I would have liked him to miss a few more shots to be able to lift the trophy, but here I am, I am making the finalist’s speech,” Thiem added.
Thiem was 0-3 in his career in the final of a major tournament. He lost twice against Spaniard Rafael Nadal, at Roland Garros, and once against Novak Djokovic, at the Australian Open.
The Austrian Thiem made a break in serve on the first game of the deciding set, when Zverev made mistakes on two forehands. The German Zverev responded in the next game by breaking in turn, piercing the site with a rare cry of personal encouragement, on a double fault from Thiem.
Zverev took the 5-3 lead with another break in serve when Thiem dispatched a parallel backhand out of play. But as he enjoyed the serve and had the chance to get his hands on the most important title of his ascending career, Zverev fell short, suffering a break in turn when he sent a volley into the net.
It was the start of a streak where Thiem would win three straight games, including a break in the 11th game to take the 6-5 lead and give himself the chance to serve for the title.
A healer went to examine Thiem’s right leg during the break between the change of sides. Like Zverev a little earlier, Thiem failed to take advantage of his serve to end the game.
