US Open 2020: Dominic Thiem in the final - "My toughest three-set win"
Dominic Thiem is in the final of the US Open for the first time after a three-set win against Daniil Medvedev . There the Austrian will meet Alexander Zverev on Sunday (10 p.m. CEST, live on Eurosport and in Austria on ServusTV and in our live ticker).
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 12, 2020, 09:04 am
Too much premature euphoria did not arise among the Austrian tennis fans after winning the second set by Dominic Thiem in the semifinals of the US Open 2020 against Daniil Medvedev: A few minutes earlier, Thiem had taken an unfortunate step, limping slightly but noticeably across the court in the Arthur Ashe Stadium. And now he had taken off his shoes, called the tournament physiotherapist and received two new pairs of shoes from his own, Alex Stober.
They needed a bit of break-in time - as in the second round, Medvedev presented with a break, Thiem used the last opportunity to come back. The fact that the score was 6: 2, 7: 6 (7), 7: 6 (5) after 2:55 hours of playing time, did not reflect the equilibrium in this match. "That was a great match at a very high level," Thiem said at his press conference after making it into the final of the US Open for the first time. “It was probably the toughest three-set win I've ever had. I could very easily have been a sentence or two behind. He hit the second and third. Fortunately, I played my best tennis towards the end of these sentences. "
Thiem shows no nerves at the end of the second sentence
Especially at the beginning of the third set, many instant historians felt called on the scene: Didn't Alexander Zverev catch up with a 2-0 set deficit against Pablo Carreno Busta? And didn't Thiem suddenly seem vulnerable after his shoe mishap? Maybe. Daniil Medvedev has never freed himself from such a hole in his career, yes, the Russian can not even record a five-set win in his vita.
In addition, it would have been extremely remarkable had it been repeated on the same evening what had happened only five times in the semifinals of the US Open in the Open Era of tennis: a comeback after two lost sets.
From a sporting point of view, Medvedev could of course have been trusted. "He was even the slightly better player until he served the sentence," Thiem continued. “I did the rebreak twice in exactly the same situation. The really big key game was 5: 5 in the second set, where I blocked four or five break chances. "
Clearly positive balance against Zverev
Thiem's tactic of mixing the spin types and speeds worked out perfectly in the end. And that's exactly how the approach against Alexander Zverev on Sunday in the final will look like. Most recently, the two played against each other in the semifinals of the Australian Open at the beginning of 2020, when Thiem prevailed. Overall, the Austrian has the nose in the mutual balance with 7-2 wins in front.
The respect for his buddy is still great. “Sascha is a fantastic player. One of the biggest in recent years. He has won all titles except one major. He will of course do everything to win the title. ”Thiem and Zverev have met twice in finals: 2016 in Nice (winner Thiem) and 2018 in Madrid (winner Zverev).