Six times before, Dominic Thiem has been to the quarterfinals or beyond at a Grand Slam. Six times before, he fell victim to a member of the Big Three—specifically, Rafael Nadal (four times) and Novak Djokovic (twice).
And while neither Nadal nor Djokovic—or Roger Federer—stand in his way at the 2020 US Open, Thiem will take lessons from those legends into Sunday's final in New York.
"It's a long story with them," the 27-year-old reflected in his semifinal press conference (available in full below). As he told it, it was a story in three acts, the third involving play.
When Federer won his first Grand Slam, at Wimbledon in 2003, Thiem was 9. He watched the Swiss battle Nadal for the first time at Roland Garros two years later. He was 14 when Djokovic won the first of his now-eight Aussie Open titles, and 17 when Djokovic won three Slams in 2011.
"First of all, I was watching, admiring them," Thiem recalled. "Then when I got bigger and older, I was still watching them and trying to learn from them, trying to put the great parts what they have in their games into my game. Then finally the last stage what I came to was playing against them."
Thiem has a combined 14-18 record against the Big Three, including a 5-2 mark against Federer. From 2019 on, he's 7-4.
"With every single match, doesn't matter if it's a win or a loss against them, it was a huge, huge experience for me," he continued. "I learned a lot from every single match against them. Also, every win against these three players, which are without a doubt the three greatest players which ever played that sport, every win against them was a huge boost of confidence and a huge experience."
There were heartbreaking losses, too. Thiem did not come particularly close to taking a set off Nadal in their first three meetings at Roland Garros, including the 2018 final, his first at a major. Then there was the nearly five-hour, five-set quarterfinal epic against the Spaniard at the 2018 US Open, a match that finished after 2 a.m., when Thiem sailed an overhead in the final-set tiebreak.
He finally beat Nadal at a major at the 2020 Australian Open, in their sixth Grand Slam meeting. Two matches later, he led Djokovic by two sets to one in the final, but ended up going home with his third Slam runner-up trophy and yet another hard lesson.
Now the Austrian is through to his second straight major final, and a third in the last five. This time, he will be the veteran, facing the 23-year-old Alexander Zverev. The German is playing in his first Grand Slam final; entering 2020, he had only ever reached the last eight twice.
"I won't change my mindset at all," Thiem said, addressing that flipped script.
At the 2020 Australian Open, he met Zverev in the semis, in between his battles with Nadal and Djokovic. It was a four-set thriller, with Thiem recovering from a set down and taking the third and fourth in tiebreaks.
"I know what Sascha is capable of," he said. "The last match we had in Australia, we were both, I mean, really, really good. It was such a close match."
There's a mutual respect between the finalists. Thiem owns the head-to-head, 7-2, including a 3-0 edge in the majors. He's also won the last three matches they've played.
Zverev was asked, before the Thiem-Medvedev semifinal, if he had a preference on his final opponent. "There is one that I would prefer to play, yes," he said, smiling. His 5-1 lifetime record over the Russian answered for him.
But it will be Thiem. And it may be Thiem's time.
"He's a hell of a player. One of the greatest ones in the last years, won all titles besides a major."
That was the Austrian, speaking about his final opponent. He could say the same of himself.
"He will also try everything that he's capable of doing to win the title," added Thiem, who said his serve return would be the key to victory. "It's going to be a super difficult match."
We will have a new men's singles major champion Sunday night, for the first time since Marin Cilic won the 2014 US Open. And for the first time since Stan Wawrinka's 2016 US Open triumph, we'll see a Grand Slam champion outside of the Big Three.
But Thiem will surely benefit from all he's learned from his earlier clashes with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. In a way, they'll all be in Arthur Ashe Stadium Sunday, if only in spirit.
"Definitely they are also a part of the player I became now."
