New York: From being two sets down, the 27-year-old world number three was in all sorts of trouble before hitting back from a break down to take the third.
Austria’s Dominic Thiem claimed his first Grand Slam title with a jaw-dropping comeback to edge past Germany’s Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6) in Sunday’s US Open final here.
From being two sets down, the 27-year-old world number three was in all sorts of trouble before hitting back from a break down to take the third.
In a nerve-wracking fourth set, Zverev faltered on serve at 3-4 allowing Thiem to take the contest to a decider.
Thiem then trailed 5-3 in the decider but rode on baseline winners to take it into a tiebreak. He squandered two match points from 6-4 but Zverev fired wide a third opportunity after four hours and two minutes.
It marked the first time in the US Open’s Open era history that a player had recovered from losing the opening two sets to win the title.
It was also the first time the final had been settled by a tie-break.
I wish we could have two winners today. I think we both deserved it, said Thiem.
The title is the 27-year-old Thiem’s maiden Grand Slam trophy after three previous defeats in finals of tennis majors.
Thiem was runner-up at the Australian Open earlier this year and also lost in the last-two showdowns at the French Open in 2018 and 2019.