Dominic Thiem, who had a 0-3 record in Grand Slam finals before Sunday, knew it wouldn't be easy to finally claim his first major title.
He had lost major finals to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros—twice—and a five-set classic to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. The Austrian knew from experience how demanding it is to get through seven rounds of best-of-five-sets tennis and then face one of those giants to win a Slam.
But he couldn’t have dreamed that his first major title would be anything like this. Facing Alexander Zverev, against whom he owned a 7-2 career advantage, Thiem probably didn't envision opening the match by playing the two worst sets of the tournament. Weighed down by nerves and the heavy favorite at the start of the match, Thiem began the final he had dreamed about as though he had decided he didn't really want to win a Slam after all.
Somehow—in a surreal match to cap off this singularly bizarre edition of the US Open—Thiem found a way to come back from two-sets-down to win that elusive first Grand Slam.
Once he recovers, Sunday's US Open final might mean even more to Thiem given what both he and Zverev had to endure just to finish the match. For four sets, it was anything but compelling. One player played outstanding tennis while the other played abysmally. Then they switched roles.
But suddenly, at two-sets-all, it became a match worthy of a major final. One worthy of the victor winning his first. With both men hobbled at the end, seemingly barely able to stand, they continued to swat improbable winners and make incredible gets on defense. As they staggered around the court, the match was transformed into a wonderfully weird and wildly unpredictable, uniquely compelling sporting event—and one that seemed perfectly appropriate for 2020.
Having lost his first three major finals, Thiem understood that he was in august company. Four other men—men with names like Agassi, Lendl, Murray and Ivanisevic—had also lost their first three attempts in Slam finals. And all of them went on to win at least one, or multiple, majors.
Thiem in the peak of his career had consistently inched closer and closer to the ultimate prize, even as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic stubbornly prolonged their reigns, well into their 30s. They always loomed in his path.
Not this year.
The 27-year-old Austrian who has patiently waited to assume the place so many had so long predicted for him is the crown prince of tennis no more. It doesn’t matter that the rest of the royal court—known in men’s tennis as the Big Three—weren't around for the coronation.
In time, the asterisk that some might have placed on this event, courageously mounted by players and organizers alike, will fade.
And what will remain is: Dominic Thiem, major winner.
