Thiem wins first US Open in tiebreaker

NEW YORK – A nation famous for its alps and its skiers has a new champion. His name is Dominic Thiem and he reached the summit of his sport Sunday in a place that is 20 feet above sea level, awakening from a godawful start and an equally bad bout of nerves to capture his first Grand Slam tennis tournament title on his fourth try.

Showing world-class resilience in a 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory over longtime friend Alexander Zverev of Germany, the third-ranked Thiem made history, winning the first Open final to be decided by a fifth-set tiebreaker and becoming the first Austrian to win America’s Grand Slam event. He joins Thomas Muster, who won the French Open in 1995, as the only Austrians to win a major tennis title. Thiem is also the first man from any nation to win a major before no fans, during a pandemic, and in a bubble.

“I achieved a life goal, a dream of myself, which I had for many, many years,” Thiem said. “I dedicated basically my whole life until this point to win one of the four majors. Now I did it.”

A total of 14,273 COVID-19 tests were administered in that bubble, and just as it was getting deconstructed Sunday night, Thiem soldiered through the toughest test of all, a match that took 321 points and four hours and one minute to decide. His exhilaration and relief were palpable as he collapsed to the court, but it was a little bittersweet, considering that his opponent was a good friend whom he has known since their junior days. It was why he dispensed with the racket tap and social distancing and hugged the 23year-old, the youngest Open finalist in 10 years, a staggering talent who might well have hoisted the trophy but for a point here and there.

“I think that we were both tested negative maybe 14 times, something like that,” Thiem said. “We just wanted to share this moment. I guess we didn’t put anybody in danger.”

Zverev wanted to hug, too: “I wish you would have missed a little bit more so I could have (held) that trophy up, but here I am giving the runner’s-up speech.” He started to cry, not just because of the crushing defeat, but because his parents couldn’t be there; they had tested positive for COVID-19 and couldn’t travel.