Austria’s Dominic Thiem finally claimed his maiden Grand Slam title with a stunning comeback to beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 in a nerve-jangling battle of wills in the US Open final on Sunday night.
The 27-year-old world No.3 appeared to have blown his golden chance as he fell two sets behind, but hit back to become the first player to win a Grand Slam from having trailed by two sets since Gaston Gaudio at the 2004 French Open.
Thiem, who dropped only one set en route to the final, gradually broke the shackles to hit back from a break down to take the third, however, Zverev faltered on serve at 3-4 in a high-quality fourth set allowing Thiem to take a slow-burner of a contest to a decider.
It had to be like this - my career was always like the match today - many ups and downs and I love the way it turned out. pic.twitter.com/ksFDgIfws8
— Dominic Thiem (@ThiemDomi) September 14, 2020
Of his win, Thiem says: “It’s amazing how far our journeys brought us to share this moment and I wish – really I wish – we could have two winners, I think we both deserved it.”
Naomi Osaka, meanwhile, was crowned women’s champion after her own comeback to beat Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday.
By Martyn Herman