Dominic Thiem of Austria, three times a loser in Grand Slam singles finals, ended his drought by overcoming a terrible start and defeating Sascha Zverev of Germany 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) on Sunday in the U.S. Open men's final. It was the first time the U.S. Open men's title had been decided by a fifth-set tiebreaker.
Before Thiem's comeback at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the last player to win the U.S. Open men's singles final after losing the first two sets was Pancho Gonzales, who rallied to defeat Ted Schroeder in 1949.
It was the second straight year the U.S. Open men's final went the distance. A year ago, Rafael Nadal won the first two sets from Daniil Medvedev and outlasted him in five sets. The last four men's Grand Slam singles finals have gone five sets.
Zverev had rolled through the first set and the early part of the second set, winning most of his service games quickly. He didn't waver until Thiem broke his serve in the eighth game of the second set to cut Zverev's lead to 5-3. Zverev won the set on his fifth try, when Thiem hit a forehand short. In the third set, Zverev broke Thiem's serve for a 2-1 lead but Thiem broke back for 2-2. The third set stayed on serve, as Thiem began to limit his errors and gained confidence, and he took advantage of Zverev's flagging energy to pull even after four sets.
The fifth set went according to serve until the eighth game, when Zverev earned a service break and served for the match at 5-3. But Thiem broke back and they eventually went to the tiebreaker. Thiem had two championship points before Zverev hit a backhand wide to end the four-hour, one-minute match, which was played without fans because of health and safety regulations invoked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It was a tough match. I wish you would have missed a little more," Zverev said to Thiem during the post-match trophy ceremony.
Thiem, the No. 2 seed, received a check for $3 million. Zverev, seeded No. 5, got $1.5 million. Thiem, 27, is the first men's Grand Slam singles champion born in the 1990s. "We both deserved it," Thiem said to Zverev afterward.
The men's field at Flushing Meadows lost much of its glamour before the tournament began, when defending champion Rafael Nadal and career Grand Slam leader Roger Federer announced they would not play. Nadal cited concerns related to travel and the COVID-19 pandemic, while Federer is recovering from knee surgery. The third member of tennis' "Big Three," Novak Djokovic, was the clear favorite but was defaulted out of competition during his round of 16 match after he accidentally struck a lineswoman in the throat with a ball he had angrily swatted toward the back wall.
Entering the final, Thiem had lost only one set in six matches, that occurring during his third-round encounter with Marin Cilic. Zverev had lost six sets and had played one five-set match _ coming back from two sets down to defeat Pablo Carreno Busta in the semifinals _ and four four-setters.
Zverev went up a break early in the first set on Sunday. Thiem's serve was betraying him _ only three of his 11 first serves were good in his first two service games _ and he double faulted in the third game to help Zverev take a 2-1 lead. In Thiem's first six matches at the Open he had 116 aces _ but also 49 double faults.
Thiem's erratic serving cost him again in the seventh game, when Zverev broke his serve to take a 5-2 lead. Zverev served for the set and punctuated his dominance with an ace on set point. Zverev continued to roll in the second set. He had a break point in the first game but didn't convert it. However, after a quick service hold, he got another break point in the third game and cashed it in for a 2-1 lead.
Zverev went up a second break and took a 4-1 lead over Thiem. Zverev held for 5-1 and had three set points in the seventh game but Thiem hung on, thanks in part to three errant returns by Zverev. Serving for the set, Zverev had a set point but began to show some signs of nerves and Thiem gained his first break point of the match. Thiem earned the break with a forehand winner and then held serve to narrow Zverev's lead to 5-4. The fifth set point was the charm for Zverev, who took the second set when Thiem hit a forehand into the net.
But Thiem slowly began to gain traction, improving his first-serve percentage and earning two service breaks in the third set, pushing the match to a fourth set. Thiem went up a break at 5-3 in the fourth set, as a wilting Zverev lost his sharpness and energy. Thiem won the fourth set when Zverev netted a forehand.
Before the match, Michael Dowse, chief executive officer of the U.S. Tennis Association, and Stacey Allaster, the U.S. Open tournament director, said they believe the Open can pave the way to resuming a busy schedule. "We know that here we made one commitment to everyone: that this would be a safe U.S. Open. On this championship Sunday we are closing down this very historic moment for our sport here in New York City with a very healthy and safe U.S. Open," Allaster said. "Everyone now is leaving and carrying on in our sport. That I think is the other big takeaway for us. We're back.
"New York rallied. The U.S. Open rallied. Everyone in our sport now gets a chance to continue on with a little bit of knowledge that they have all experienced here during their time in New York."
Dowse said moving the Western & Southern Open from Cincinnati and holding it at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center before the Open in a "double bubble" was an example of the innovation and cooperation needed to stage events. "At the end we reflect back and say it's safe, it's been good for tennis, and it's been financially good for the players and the tennis ecosystem," Dowse said.
