Dominic Thiem surely knew the question was coming, so he addressed it front and center.
After dismissing Russian Daniil Medvedev and reaching his fourth Grand Slam final at the 2020 US Open, the 27-year-old Austrian talked about the elephant in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Thiem has played in three major finals, and Thiem has lost three major finals, becoming only the fifth man in the Open era to start 0-3 in Grand Slam title matches.
He is in good company with the four other men who have started 0-3 in major finals:
- Andre Agassi (went on to have an 8-7 record in major singles finals)
- Goran Ivanisevic (1-3 record in major singles finals)
- Ivan Lendl (8-11 record in major singles finals)
- Andy Murray (3-8 record in major singles finals)
Speaking on Friday night, Thiem already knew his next steps should he lose against Germany’s Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final and fall to 0-4 in Grand Slam title matches.
“If I win, I have my first,” Thiem said. “If not, I probably have to call Andy Murray.”
Murray and former coach Ivan Lendl are the only men who started their careers 0-4 in major singles finals. But both went on to win multiple Grand Slam titles. “It’s easy for Andy because he has won three in the meantime,” Thiem said.
How quickly Thiem brought up Murray’s poor start in title matches leads one to wonder if Thiem’s 0-3 start has played on his mind.
The Austrian, however, says that’s not the case. He hasn’t spoken to Murray about overcoming the losses and winning his first major title, and Thiem insisted that his 0-3 start won’t be floating around his head come Sunday’s final, when he or Zverev will become the first new men’s singles Grand Slam champion in six years.
“I was joking about it… That's not what I'm thinking about Sunday. [I’m] just going to go in fully focused, like in all the six previous matches. Well, the world continues no matter what's result is, so it's going to be fine,” Thiem said.
“Of course, I'm super happy that I gave myself another chance to be in the finals, pretty quick after Australia. Going to be a great one against a very good friend and a great rival.”
For the first time in a major final, Thiem will not see a member of the Big Three across the net. He fell to Rafael Nadal in his two French Open finals and lost to Novak Djokovic at the 2020 Australian Open.
Thiem has a losing record against both all-time greats, but he’s rarely lost to Zverev, who will be playing in his first major final.
Thiem has beaten the 23-year-old German seven of the nine times they’ve played, including the past three. Most recently, Thiem beat Zverev in four sets to reach the Australian Open final.
“We played an epic in Australia,” Zverev said. “Obviously happy to be in a final. But... there's still one more step to go.”
Zverev has had to work long hours to accomplish this career milestone. The 6-foot-6 German has spent more than 17 hours on court, nearly four more than Thiem, who’s dropped only one set so far.
Zverev had to work particularly hard in the semifinals, coming back from two sets down for the first time to hold off Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta. The effort surely exhausted Zverev physically, but the win also bolstered his belief.
“Mentally I stayed in it. Even though I was down two sets to love, I stayed in it. I gave myself the best chance I could,” Zverev said. “Sometimes you have to dig deep. Today I dug deep, dug very deep.”
The 23-year-old has long been touted to grab the baton from the Big Three and collect his own haul of Grand Slam trophies. But his rise has been slower than his early play suggested.
In 2017, Zverev beat Djokovic and Roger Federer to win Masters 1000 titles. Yet the German didn’t reach his first major semifinal until more than two years later, in January.
He has been unable to solve the best players in the game on the biggest stages. Zverev is 0-7 against the Top 10 at major championships, including two losses to Thiem. To compare, Thiem is 8-8.
At this year’s two majors, however, Zverev has made progress.
Of his semifinal run in Melbourne, Zverev said: “I came to this tournament different... I went step by step, match by match. Usually I didn't do that in Grand Slams.”
Here in Queens, he has relied on a similar mindset. Speaking after his comeback semifinal win, Zverev said, “I needed to play better, start something new. I thought, ‘OK, I'm going to go set by set, we'll see how far I can get.’ It turned out well in the end.”
If Sunday’s final is to also turn out well for Zverev, he will want to avoid the need for such heroics. Thiem rarely relents a lead, and few are better at the end of matches. The Austrian went 15-3 in deciding sets last season.
“I know what Sascha is capable of. Also the last match we had in Australia, we were both, I mean, really, really good. It was such a close match,” Thiem said.
“He's a hell of a player. One of the greatest ones in last years. Won all titles besides a major. He will also try everything what he's capable of doing to win the title. It's going to be a super difficult match.”
