Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev's Twitter exchange of sportsmanship floors netizens

re have been many legendary five-set wins in history of Grand Slam tennis, but never before in Open era has any men's singles player come down from two sets to love to win a championship title. Dominic Thiem’s US Open 2020 victory will always be remembered for this record being broken. It has been an odd, or some may say, historic US Open. From big names like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal pulling out, to hosting an entire tournament with spectators, and disqualification of World . 1 vak Djokovic, re may never be a Grand Slam like this again. 

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Thiem US Open win historic, unique and emotional

Adding to uniqueness of US Open 2020 this year, Dominic Thiem has ushered in a new era of Grand Slam winners. After his heroic win over Alexander Zverev, he has become first Grand Slam winner to be born in 90s. He is also first man outside of ‘Big 3' to win a Slam since 2016. Thiem’s reaction after his win sums up exactly what this title means to him. It’s t just his first Grand Slam title, but one that he has been chasing for years.

As he said in his tweet, Dominic Thiem’s career has been one of massive ups and downs. Thiem won his first title as a pro in 2015 at Open de Nice Côte d'Azur in France. very next year, he broke into top 10 ATP men’s rankings with his French Open semi-final appearance. He has t dropped below .10 in rankings ever since, which is a testament to how well he has maintained his form. 

Dominic Thiem reached his first Grand Slam final in 2018 at French Open. While he lost that match to King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, it gave him experience he needed to compete at highest levels, with creme de la creme of game. He had a quick Round 1 exit at Wimbledon but reached quarter-finals at US Open later that year. 2019 again was a rollercoaster year for him. Thiem reached final of French Open for second consecutive year but failed to make an impression in any of or slams, crashing out in first two rounds. w at last, after being a Grand Slam runner-up thrice, Thiem has fought his way to his first Grand Slam win. 

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Thiem vs Zverev? Great rivalry but even greater friendship

Thiem has breezed past all his competitors at US Open 2020. On his way to final, he dropped only set, against Marin Čilić. Yet in final, Thiem looked uneasy. In first two sets, he made more double faults than Zverev, who has dubious record of having made most double faults at US Open 2020. His first serve rate in first set was just 37%.

Zverev was quick to capitalise on faults, setting himself up 6-2, 6-4. It was somewhere in third set, where according to Thiem’s post-match interview, he thought to himself that he couldn’t lose a final that he was favourite to win. So he went back up and scripted one of greatest comebacks in tennis finals history, making himself part of an esteemed club of US Open Men’s Singles Champions. 

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Despite great rivalry on court, Thiem and Zverev were both all praises for each or at Arthur Ashe Stadium. After his win, Thiem took chance to heap praise on Zverev and his team, saying he wished match could have two winners. He also told 23-year-old Zverev that he would definitely go on to win US Open. In first physical gesture of camaraderie shown at US Open this year, Zverev and Thiem also shared a heartwarming hug at end of four-hour-long match. 

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Im Credits: US Open Twitter