Without Big 3, it’s a Grand time for Thiem or Zverev
Dominic Thiem says he’ll face a tough task in the U.S. Open final against Alexander Zverev.
And perhaps he will Sunday, when both try to become a first-time Grand Slam champion, something men’s tennis hasn’t seen in six years, thanks largely to the dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
What’s certain is that Zverev, as talented as he is, does not present the same kind of hurdle Thiem faced in his three previous title matches at major tournaments — a pair of losses to 12-time French Open champion Nadal in Paris, and one to eight-time Australian Open champion Djokovic in Melbourne.
“I won’t change my mindset at all. I know what Sascha is capable of,”
Thiem said, referring to Zverev by his nickname. “For me, it really doesn’t matter whether it’s him or one of the Big Three. “I’ll just try to go in there and give my best.”
It had been 16 years since Grand Slam semifinals were held without at least one of Federer, Nadal or Djokovic, who had combined to win the past 13 major trophies and 56 of the last 67.
Nadal chose not to try to defend his U.S. Open title, citing concerns about international travel amid the coronavirus pandemic. Federer is out for the rest of 2020 after two operations on his right knee. And Djokovic’s tournament ended at 5-6 in the first set of his fourth-round match when the No. 1 seed and title favorite was disqualified for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball after dropping a game in the first set.
So now there will be a Thiem vs. Zverev final between two members of the 20-something set long seen as capable of winning Grand Slam titles.
“It’s huge pressure for both of us,” Thiem said.
He’s a 27-year-old from Austria who’s ranked No. 3 and seeded No. 2. Zverev, 23, from Germany is ranked No. 7 and seeded No. 5.
While Thiem reached his first major semifinal back in 2016, this is relatively new territory for his opponent. It wasn’t until this January that Zverev made it to his first Grand Slam final four at the Australian Open, losing to Thiem, who is 7-2 against someone he calls “a very good friend and a great rival.”
That includes a 3-0 mark for Thiem at the majors and 3-1 edge on hard courts. Zverev put together his first career comeback from a two-set deficit to win his semifinal 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 against No. 20 seed Pablo Carreno Busta.
“There’s still one more step to go,” he said. “For me, I think it’s going to be extremely difficult.”
Thiem showed that he’s as mentally tough as he is fundamentally sound in his semifinal. Daniil Medvedev, last year’s runner-up, served for the second and third sets only to be broken by Thiem, who went on to a 6-2, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) victory.