Dominic Thiem beats Alexander Zverev to reach his first-ever Australian Open final

Dominic Thiem sealed his place in his third Grand Slam championship final on Friday. The fourth seed fought back after losing the first set. He saved two set points in the third set of a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) victory over German Alexander Zverev. The match finished in three hours and 42 minutes on the Rod Laver Arena. Thiem is the first Austrian to reach an Australian Open final. He will face off against World No. 2 and seven-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.

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Australian Open: Alexander Zverev vs Dominic Thiem highlights

Alexander Zverev chose to receive and the judgement reaped bonuses with a service break. However, Dominic Thiem immediately fought back. The fourth game was briefly interrupted by a rain break after which Zverev put his best foot forward to take the set. The German won ten straight points to gain a 5-3 advantage before clinching the set 6-3 in 40 minutes. Alexander Zverev extended his excellent start into the second set. However, Dominic Thiem rose to the occasion and saved two break points to clinch the set 6-4.

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In the third set, Zverev attempted to fight back from 0/40 at 1-1. However, he was left deserted at the net on the third breakpoint.  At 2-3, a smart return by Zverev caught Thiem slicing a backhand into the net. The German rose in confidence as he clinched 10 of the next 16 points. Thiem’s forehand started to break down at 4-5, but his backhand did some magic to save him two set points. Thiem carved a 3/0 lead in the tie-break and was able to win the 82-minute set with a backhand crosscourt winner.

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Alexander Zverev vs Dominic Thiem: Thiem extends head to head advantage

The fourth set was a humdinger with Alexander Zverev trying all that he could to take the game to a fifth set. Dominic Thiem had to fight through another tie-breaker to take the set and book a place in the Australian Open finals. Thiem would hope that he can repeat his inspirational performances against Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev in the final. 

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