The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Five Stripes have to work their way out of this funk
NEW YORK — At a U.S. Open unlike any other, Dominic Thiem constructed a comeback the likes of which hadn’t been seen in 71 years.
After dropping the opening two sets against Alexander Zverev on Sunday at a nearly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium — fans were banned because of the coronavirus pandemic — Thiem slowly but surely turned things around for a 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) victory across more than four hours to earn his first major championship.
The 27-year-old from Austria is the first man to win the American Grand Slam tournament after trail- ing 2-0 in sets in the final since Pancho Gonzalez did it against Ted Schroeder in 1949 at an event then known as the U.S. Championships.
Not only that, but in a fitting finish to an unprece- dented two weeks, this match was decided by a fifth-set tiebreaker, something that had never happened in the final.
When it nded on a groundstroke flubbed by Zverev, a weary Thiem colapsed on his back way behind the baseline. Zverev — who himself came within two points of the victory — walked around the net to offer a handshake and hug to his pal, two gestures rarely spotted in this era of social
ledistancing. Thiem had come in 0-3 in Grand Slam finals, but always came up against Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in those others. This time, he was the favorite and came out jittery, but eventually worked his way out of that, while Zverev went from cool and confi- dent to passive and pushed around.
The fifth set was just as back-and-forth as the other four, the mistakes rising with the tension and the history in the offing.
Thiem broke in the opening game when Zverev shanked a pair of forehands.
Zverev broke right back — and pierced the silence with a rare cry of “Come on!” — when Thiem double-faulted.
Then it was Zverev’s turn to nose ahead, breaking for a 5-3 lead when Thiem sent a down-the-line backhand wide.
But with a chance to serve out the biggest win of his nascent career, Zverev faltered.
That began a three-game run for Thiem, who broke to lead 6-5, earning his own chance to serve for it, when Zverev netted a backhand, followed by a long forehand.
A member of the Big Three of men’s tennis — Roger Federer, Nadal or Djokovic — had won the preceding 13 major trophies, and Thiem took advantage of the chance to sneak into the club of cham- pions.
Atlanta United’s Season of Lows continued with Saturday’s 4-2 loss at Nashville, a game in which something even as simple as completing a throw-in proved maddeningly difficult and was quickly punished.
The MLS team gave up three goals in the first half, including one that started when a throw-in was gifted to Nashville. The other two started with turnovers in its third of the field.
It was, as interim manager Stephen Glass said, one of the club’s worst performances.
“I think the players know the standards required and they know there is no excuse for the performance level tonight,” he said. “We win and lose as a group, obviously. I think there’s a lot of people that know they didn’t come up to the required standard to play for the club tonight.”
Before Saturday, a bright spot during the previous eight games was the developing partnership between cen- terbacks Miles Robinson and Fernando Meza, and then Robinson and Anton Walkes.
Against Nashville, the duo were taken apart by Nash- ville, which looked quicker and more confident. Walkes was beaten to the back post by Dom Badji on the first goal, scored within the first minute. Neither player moved quickly enough to defend the second goal, scored by Hany Mukhtar. The third goal was a collec- tive mistake with no one pick- ing up the late-running Dax McCarty, which has been another issue for the team this season. On the fourth, Walkes couldn’t catch Abu Danladi on a simple ball over the top. To be fair to Walkes, none of Atlanta Unit- ed’s players moved to pres- sure McCarty on the pass.
“We basically gave them goals; our turnovers, our mistakes,” said George Bello, who scored the team’s second goal. “I feel like it is a focus thing, a mentality thing. Getting into the game from the first minute. We were on the back foot from the first couple of minutes. We shouldn’t feel bad for ourselves when that happens. We need to step up instead of going down. I think it is just the mental part of it and being locked in from the first second, from the first whistle. I think that is what we need moving forward.”
But it was about more than just Robinson and Walkes, who were playing their fifth consecutive game together in the past two weeks.
The midfield failed to move the ball quickly, unless it was backward. The team created just eight chances despite falling behind 1-0 in less than a minute. Adam Jahn rarely received any service from crosses into the penalty box.
The team did score in the first half on a Jeff Larentowicz header, but it was the result of a free kick. It created nothing memorable from open play.
The ray of hope is that despite winning just one of its past nine games, Atlanta United is in 10th, the final playoff spot, with 12 games remaining.
Larentowicz said that it is time for the team to go to work. He said that’s the only way it can fight through its current malaise.
“If you don’t, it gets worse,” he said. “It compounds. Each game gets worse. You don’t want to come into training. It’s also something that this club has never done and I don’t see us doing it this year. We have to work our way out of it. We have plenty of talent, plenty of ability on the field but we can’t allow ourselves to get to that place.”
Glass said chasing that playoff spot is the goal.
“We know we have to improve, but if we can improve, if you can get yourself in a decent spot later, you can build and you can continue to grow,” he said. “So that is obviously the aim. That’s the work rate that will be going in. That’s the work rate that we’ll be demanding. So hopefully the players are capable of doing it. I think they are. We believe in them.”