Dominic Thiem has finally broken his Grand Slam duck at the fourth time of asking, beating Alexander Zverev in five sets at the US Open.The Austrian had to fight from the brink of defeat after losing the first two sets and finding himself a break down in the third – and again in the fifth
However, he held his nerve to edge the deciding set and win 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.
Thiem went into the match the strong favourite to win, but it was Zverev who started much the stronger.
He dominated the early exchanges, especially at the net, and he quickly and seemingly effortlessly romped into a two set lead with Thiem struggling to find any rhythm at all.
Zverev looked like he had the match on his racket as early as the third too, when he found himself a break up, but Thiem broke back and pinched it at the death.
From then on, Thiem looked more in control, though the margins were fine. He win the fourth, but it wasn’t until the fifth set that an already absorbing final became truly epic.
World number three Thiem got the first break, but was immediately pegged back. Zverev had the next chance, and actually served for the match only to see his nerve fail him.
Thiem himself then had the opportunity to serve for the match, but he was physically failing by that point, and his looked to have lost mobility at precisely the worst time. Zverev broke, and forced a tiebreaker.
It was the first time a fifth set tiebreak had ever been played in the US Open final, and it didn’t fail to provide drama. Despite looking to be severely hampered by injury, Thiem managed to edge himself in front, only to be pegged back again.
Zverev, though, could not capitalise on the momentum swing, and Dominic Thiem finally wrapped up his first Grand Slam title with his third championship point.
