'I failed at beating Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, but...', says Top 5

The Grand Slam tournaments have a new name to be included in their historic and legendary palmarès: it is that of Dominic Thiem. The 27-year-old Austrian made it this time to win a Major title, going to triumph at the US Open thanks to a sensational comeback on Alexander Zverev with a score of 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (8/6), after more than four hours of battle, at the end of this very special 2020 edition, carried out in a "bubble" with no contact with the outside and empty stands following the coronavirus pandemic. For the third player in the ATP ranking it was the fourth final of a Grand Slam: before this, he had lost two at Roland Garros (2018 and 2019) against Rafael Nadal and one at the last Australian Open against Novak Djokovic. Dominic Thiem recently spoke about not having faced a single 'Big 3' member (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) on his road to lifting the US Open trophy. The World No. 3 also thanked his former coach Gunter Bresnik for building his game when he was a youngster.

Thiem on his first Grand Slam title

"Not at all, for me it's not worth less or more," Dominic Thiem said. "Whoever I beat, it doesn't matter to me. I had the chances in my previous finals to beat one of the Big 3 or even two of them on the road to a title. I failed (at beating Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at other Slams), but I hope that I'll get more chances to do so. There is the French Open around the corner," Thiem said. The World number 3 also reflected on Gunter Bresnik: "Independence and growing up is so important, on court if it's 5-5 in the fifth, you have to take the decisions, your own decision. It was a huge step and a very tough decision," Thiem stated. "Of course, I have to thank Gunter a lot. He taught me all the strokes I have, but at the same time I felt there were some little parts of my game that I really can improve so much, and that's what Nico [Massu] helped me with, especially the improvement I did on the faster surfaces," Thiem finished. Two-time Olympic Champion Nicolas Massu has been working with Thiem since 2019 and oversaw the world number three’s five-set triumph over Alexander Zverev on Sunday, winning his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows after losing in three major finals prior to that. Former top-ten player Massu believes this win will make Thiem more relaxed at future major tournaments.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3hII5JY