2020 in Review: Dominic Thiem edges Alexander Zverev to earn Major glory

Competing in his fourth Major final, Dominic Thiem survived all the obstacles to beat Alexander Zverev and become a Major champion in New York. The 2nd seed took down the 5th 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 in four hours and one minute, performing the most remarkable comeback in men's Major finals since Roland Garros 2004 to earn tennis glory. Zverev had everything in his hands, winning the opening two sets and serving for the title at 5-3 in the decider, squandering all that to finish runner-up in his first Major final. Thiem won four points more overall, and they stayed neck and neck in both the shortest and more advanced exchanges. Alexander had more winners and more unforced errors, scoring eight breaks from 18 opportunities and suffering seven breaks from 13 chances offered to the Austrian. Alexander made a furious start, firing 16 winners and dropping three points on serve in the opener to leave the opponent far behind and take it 6-2.

Zverev forced Thiem's error to secure the first break in the third game, holding at love with a forehand winner to confirm the advantage and open a 3-1 gap. The youngster landed another forehand winner to cement the sixth game and remain 4-2 up, forcing a mistake from Dominic to grab another break in game seven and serve for the opener. Showing no signs of nerves, Alexander landed an ace down the T line to wrap up the first part of the encounter after 30 minutes. Continuing where he left in the first, Zverev stormed over Thiem in the second set's opening six games to forge a 5-1 advantage.

Dominic Thiem came from sets to love down to become a Major champion.

The Austrian sprayed a forehand error in the third game to fall behind, wasting two deuces on the next game's return and finding himself 4-1 down following another forehand mistake in game five. Facing three set points at 1-5, Dominic dug deep to get out of jail and prolong the set, fending off another one on the return to pull one break back and reduce the deficit to 4-5 after a hold at love.

With no room for errors, Alexander held in game ten to grab the second set 6-4, taking a massive two sets to love lead after 80 minutes! Zverev broke in the third set's third game when Thiem landed a forehand beyond the baseline, suffering a break a few minutes later to keep the rival on the positive side of the scoreboard. At 4-4, the Austrian held after deuce and made one of the pivotal holds, stealing Alexander's serve at 15 when the German sent a forehand wide to steal the set 6-4 and prolong the encounter. Carried by this momentum, Thiem had a clear upper hand on the court in set number four, dropping two points behind the initial shot and creating two break chances in the sixth game. Zverev saved them to stay in touch but netted a forehand in game eight to fall 5-3 behind and allow Thiem to secure the set and force a decider.

They traded early breaks, and Alexander clinched another in game eight to forge a 5-3 lead and serve for the trophy. Still, he couldn't bring it home, netting an easy volley at the net to keep Thiem alive and suffering another break in game 11 to lose ground. It was Dominic's turn to serve for the title but he cracked under pressure and got broken to set the first-ever deciding tie break in the US Open's men's final. From 6-4 down, Alexander saved two match points to level the score, losing another point at the net and spraying a backhand mistake in the 14th point to hand the title to Thiem and experience a heartbreaking defeat.

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