Dominic Thiem booked his place in his third Grand Slam championship final on Friday with a hard-fought win at the Australian Open, report agencies. The fourth seed battled back from losing the first set, and saved two set points in the third set of a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) victory over first-time major semi-finalist, Alexander Zverev, the seventh seed from Germany, in three hours and 42 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
“It was an unreal match, two tie-breaks, so tough and so close,” Thiem told former World No. 1 John McEnroe in an on-court interview. “It was almost impossible to break him, with [him getting in] such a high percentage of first serves. An Australian Open final is unreal, and what a start to the season so far.”
Thiem is the first Austrian to reach the Australian Open final, where he will look to beat second seed and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic. The 26-year-old has previously finished as runner-up to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2018 and 2019.
Thiem won 23 of his 27 points at the net, and hit 43 winners, including 10 aces. Zverev, who hit 103 of his 127 first serves into court, converted five of his 14 break point chances and committed 33 unforced errors. Zverev elected to receive and the decision reaped dividends with a service break, but Thiem got back immediately. Light rain began to fall in the fourth game and briefly suspended play and it was until 3-3, that Zverev put his foot on the accelerator, winning 10 straight points to a 5-3 lead and 0/30 on Thiem’s serve. Zverev clinched the 40-minute opener when Thiem hit a backhand into the net.
Zverev extended his run of four straight games by winning the first game of the second set, but service woes arose in the third game as Thiem gained the break. Zverev showcased his athleticism with a terrific pick-up close to the net at 3-2, with Thiem serving at 15/40, finishing with a smash to level the score. However, luck was on Thiem’s side in the next game, when a backhand return hit the net cord and dropped dead to set up two break points.
Thiem, sensing his chance, rushed to the net at 15/40 for a volley that Zverev could not recover. Serving for the second set at 5-4, Thiem came under pressure, but saved two break points and clinched the 40-minute set with an ace — his third of the pair’s 11th meeting. There was little respite for Zverev, who attempted to fight back from 0/40 at 1-1, but was left stranded at the net on the third break point when Thiem ripped a backhand crosscourt winner. Thiem saved a break point in the next game, then came close to a 4-1 advantage, but Zverev scrambled up a backhand winner off a dive volley from Thiem at 30/40.
At 2-3, a clever return by Zverev caught Thiem slicing a backhand into the net and the German’s confidence grew as he won 10 of the next 16 points. While Thiem’s forehand began to break down at 4-5, his backhand held up and the Austrian saved two set points on serve. Thiem opened up a 3/0 lead in the tie-break and continued to dig in en route to finishing the 82-minute set with a backhand crosscourt winner.
There were no chances en route to a tie-break in the fourth set. But when Zverev hit a double fault at 0/1, Thiem gained the advantage and fully broke clear when he took a 5/3 lead. Thiem completed his seventh win in 11 meetings against Zverev with his 43rd winner – a forehand volley winner.
If Thiem goes on to beat Djokovic in Sunday’s final he will become the 150th different man in history to win a major championship title. Zverev, who has donated AU $50,000 towards Australia’s bushfire relief efforts — AU $10,000 for every match win in Melbourne — had been attempting to become the third German man to reach the Australian Open final, after Boris Becker (1991, 1996) and Rainer Schuettler (2003).