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Dominic Thiem creates US Open history with insane 71-year first

Dominic Thiem smiles and holds up the trophy after winning the US Open against Alexander Zverev.
Dominic Thiem celebrates with the championship trophy after winning in a tie-breaker during his Men's Singles final match at the US Open against Alexander Zverev. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Austrian Dominic Thiem won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open and created tennis history in the process after an astonishing comeback against German Alexander Zverev.

Having lost three of three Grand Slam finals, Thiem was facing the prospect of yet another crushing defeat when he went down two-sets and a break in the final.

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But in a match, in which Thiem was clearly struggling with an injury, the Austrian dug deep and was able to hold his nerves to take the final three sets 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.

The astonishing come back was the first time at the US Open since 1949 when a men’s player had come back from two-sets down to win the US Open final.

The last man to achieve this feat was American Pancho Gonzales defeated countryman Fred Schroeder Jr.

The Austrian’s victory also made him the youngest player, at 27, to win a Grand Slam since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009.

Furthermore, Thiem became the first player since Marin Cilic in 2014 that a new Grand Slam champion was crowned and became just the second Austrian, since Thomas Muster, to win a Grand Slam championship.

Dominic Thiem shakes hands with Alexander Zverev after winning their Men's Singles final match on Day Fourteen of the 2020 US Open.
Dominic Thiem shakes hands with Alexander Zverev after winning their Men's Singles final match on Day Fourteen of the 2020 US Open. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The final was not without its drama during and after the match.

Following the rollercoaster of emotions in the final set, a devastated Zverev broke down during the post-match celebration in ‘heartbreaking’ scenes.

Thiem’s struggles in US Open final

Despite the astonishing comeback, Thiem struggled with an apparent injury and nerves during the final.

But the Austrian was a shadow of the player who dominated Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals.

“Thiem playing shockingly bad. Almost tough to watch,” tennis writer Jose Morgado wrote on Twitter.

British journalist George Bellshaw wrote: “Hard to believe how bad Dominic Thiem has been tonight given the level he’s shown this tournament.”

Dominic Thiem looking frustrated in the third set during his Men's Singles final match against and Alexander Zverev.
Dominic Thiem looking frustrated in the third set during his Men's Singles final match against and Alexander Zverev. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

But in astonishing scenes, Thiem completely righted the ship and sent the match to a fifth set.

A nervy Zverev dropped his serve at 4-5 in the third set to hand it to his opponent, before Thiem snatched the fourth set 6-3.

The official account of The Tennis Podcast tweeted that Thiem’s comeback came “out of nowhere”.