WHAT HAPPENED: Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano, ranked No. 87, earned the biggest win of his career by shocking No. 4 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in Arthur Ashe Stadium in Round 1 of the 2019 US Open.
After the first two sets were decided by a single break by each player, the battle took shape in earnest. Thiem double-faulted away his opening service game of the third set, and Fabbiano denied two break points in the seventh game. The former world No. 70 then seemed to tighten. He squandered two set points with Thiem serving at 2-5 and faced two break points in the ninth game before Thiem’s final errant forehand handed him the 6-3 decision.
Fabbiano did not falter in the final set, however, hitting nine winners and just two unforced errors.
Fabbiano said his game is "getting better and better."
"It was a great match, a big show," Fabbiano said. "For me to play in front of so many people on a big stadium was something new for me. I gave my best."
Thiem said he became "very, very tired and exhausted after two sets."
"I’m far away from 100 percent. Like this, it’s very tough to win. I went on court because in tennis, especially in such long two-week tournaments, anything can happen. But it is what it is," he said.
WHAT IT MEANS: Fabbiano is making a name for himself as a giant-killer, having upended No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the first round of Wimbledon 2019 and Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka in the second round of The Championships in 2018.
In the US Open second round, he faces Russian Andrey Rublev, who defeated him in straight sets at last week's Winstom-Salem Open.
Thiem has reclaimed his career high No. 4 ranking—which he initially achieved on November 6, 2017—on the strength of a solid season leading up to the summer hard-court season. He notched a win over Roger Federer to earn his first ATP Masters 1000 championship at Indian Wells, and also claimed titles at Barcelona and Kitzbuhel. The runner-up to Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros, Thiem also made semifinal appearances at the Madrid and Buenos Aires Opens.
However, Thiem’s preparation for Flushing Meadows was less than ideal. He reached the quarterfinals at Montreal with wins over home favorite Denis Shapovalov and Marin Cilic before bowing Daniil Medvedev, and illness forced his withdrawal from Cincinnati. Thiem, who was edged by Nadal in a thrilling five-set quarterfinal decision at the 2018 US Open, had never before failed to win back-to-back matches in his four previous appearances at Flushing Meadows.
MATCH POINT: Fabbiano withstood 67 aces to defeat American Reilly Opelka in a fifth-set tiebreak to reach the third round at the 2019 Australian Open, before losing to Grigor Dimitrov.
