US Open 2020: Dominic Thiem Steams Into Final - ATP Tour

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Dominic Thiem overcame a right ankle injury, a set point in the second and third sets, and the relentless counterpunching of third seed Daniil Medvedev to reach his first US Open final on Friday. The second seed dug deep and displayed his trademark fighting spirit to outlast Medvedev 6-2, 7-6(7), 7-6(5).

"I love these big matches. To face the best guys in the world is what I do the hard work for at home and in the off-season," Thiem said on court after the match. "After the first set, it was great tennis from both of us. I could have easily been down two-sets-to-one. I'm really happy to be through. It was a great semi-final."

Quality match 👏#USOpen pic.twitter.com/1mlYbZDRHy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 12, 2020

The 27-year-old improved to 3-1 in his ATP Head2Head series with Medvedev and is now one match from his maiden Grand Slam title. He became the first Austrian to reach a US Open final and is through to his second consecutive Grand Slam final after finishing runner-up this year at the Australian Open. But unlike his three previous finals at a major championship. Thiem won't face a member of the Big Three.

Awaiting him is fifth seed Alexander Zverev, who also seeks his first Grand Slam crown. Zverev rallied from two sets down earlier in the day to outlast No. 20 seed Pablo Carreno Busta. Thiem holds a 7-2 lead in their ATP Head2Head rivalry and has won their past three matches.

"It's all or nothing," Thiem said. "It's going to be a completely open match... I'm really looking forward to that. We have such a great friendship and rivalry. It's amazing that we're going to face each other in a Grand Slam final."

The final is set.

Zverev or Thiem? #USOpen pic.twitter.com/uWlPaRhEMZ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 12, 2020

Medvedev arrived to the match having only been broken three times in 68 service games. Thiem failed to convert his first two break points, but a controversial moment on his third opportunity at 3-2 gave him the first break of the night.

The third seed hit a first serve that was called good and Thiem cracked a backhand return that the Russian didn’t attempt to move for. Medvedev attempted to challenge the call thinking his serve landed long — as a Hawkeye review shown on the broadcast proved correct — but was denied by the chair umpire, who insisted that Thiem hit the return before the challenge was made. As a frustrated Medvedev pleaded his case, Thiem told the umpire to let him challenge. The call ultimately stood and Medvedev later apologised to the Austrian for the disruption in play.

But the moment threw Medvedev off mentally and Thiem capitalised. He took eight of the next nine points to grab the early advantage.

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Medvedev quickly regrouped and broke Thiem to start the second set after the Austrian played an uncharacteristically patchy game. The 24-year-old also began to impose himself more on serve. Medvedev won 65 per cent of first-serve points in the opening set, but that number exceeded 90 per cent late in the second set.

But first deliveries inside the service box were few and far between when Medvedev served for the set at 5-4. Thiem capitalised and opened the game with a pair of baseline winners, then broke as the Russian dumped a forehand into the net. An epic six-deuce game followed at 5-5 as Thiem fought through visible nerves by charging the net behind aggressive forehand approaches. He bravely fought off five break points before holding with a forehand winner.

Thiem erased a set point with a big serve at 5/6 in the tie-break, only to see Medvedev match that effort serving at 6/7. But an ill-advised drop shot from the third seed at 7/7 landed in the middle of the court and Thiem crunched a forehand winner for another set point. He made good on the second opportunity with another aggressive forehand and took a commanding advantage.

The grueling rallies started to take their toll on the Austrian. He received a medical timeout at the end of the second set for treatment on his right ankle. 

But Medvedev experienced déjà vu with how the third set played out. Although Thiem was still able to scamper around the baseline, Medvedev continued to test his opponent’s ankle and scored an immediate break when the Austrian mistimed a down-the-line backhand. But Medvedev again failed to serve out a set and was broken at 5-3 after missing a routine forehand.

A tired backhand error from Medvedev in the tie-break gave Thiem an early mini-break and a double fault three points later pushed Thiem to a 4/0 advantage. Thiem held two match points at 6/4 and converted his second after a forehand error from Medvedev wrapped up play after two hours and 55 minutes.

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US Open 2020: Dominic Thiem Steams Into Final - ATP Tour
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