01 February,2020 10:35 AM IST | Melbourne | AFP
Dominic Thiem celebrates his semi-final win over Alexander Zverev in Melbourne yesterday. Pics/Getty Images
Melbourne: Tireless Dominic Thiem came from a set down to outlast German Alexander Zverev and make his first Australian Open final on Friday, booking a showdown with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, a man he called the "king". Thiem, 26, fifth seed, the first player from Austria ever to reach the Melbourne decider, battled past seventh-ranked Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) on a sweltering evening. "It was an unreal match, two tie-breakers, so tough and so close. It was almost impossible to break him," said Thiem. "Being in the Australian Open final is unreal. What a start to the season for me," he added.
Djokovic is waiting
Defending champion Djokovic awaits him after the second seed ended Roger Federer's dreams in straight sets on Thursday to make his eighth Melbourne Park final. "He's the king of Australia," Thiem said of the Serb. Thiem has his work cut out against the Serb who is on a 12-match unbeaten streak this season and has won all seven of the Australian Open deciders he has contested. And if Djokovic needs extra motivation, winning on Sunday will see him reclaim the World No. 1 ranking after Rafael Nadal crashed to Thiem in the last eight.
Alexander Zverev during yesterday's semi-final
But there is a glimmer of hope - Djokovic is 6-4 in their head-to-heads, but Thiem has won four of the last five. "It's absolutely his comfort zone here. He always plays his best tennis in Australia since many, many years, said Thiem of the Serb. I need to try and be in the zone straight away on Sunday night." Thiem had dealt with semi-final pressure before, although always on the slower red clay at Roland Garros, where he reached the past two finals only to be beaten by Nadal. That experience paid dividends as he coolly closed out the match after 3 hours 42 minutes to give himself another chance to break the stranglehold of the Big Three and win his first Grand Slam.
A jittery Thiem was broken in the opening game, saving two break points before sending a backhand wide to immediately be on the back foot. Both players were nervous and the German failed to consolidate, broken straight back. Their momentum was interrupted when rain began falling and the roof needed closing, but it was only a brief intermission and Zverev resumed to hold for 2-2.
Zverev loses focus
Thiem was still struggling with his first serve and a double fault handed the German a chance to go 4-3 in front and he grabbed it. Zverev took command, putting 90 per cent of his booming first serves in, and broke again to seal the set as the Austrian error-count mounted. But Zverev lost focus and two double faults in game three of the second set handed Thiem a 2-1 lead. Zverev managed to break back but he was too erratic as Thiem broke again and clung on, firing an ace to take set two.
Dominic Thiem said a burst of 'Sweet Caroline' during a stadium lights malfunction helped calm his nerves as he fought back from a set down to reach the Australian Open final on Friday.
The Austrian fifth seed was 0-1 down in the third set to Alexander Zverev when the semi-final was halted for nine minutes to fix a light which had gone out behind the baseline. But Thiem said the Neil Diamond classic, played to entertain the crowd during the delay, reminded him of good times on skiing holidays with friends. "I like this song," he said.
"I felt like I was in Austria on skiing holidays, because that's where they play that song all the time. "That loosened me up a bit." Thiem went on to win the third and fourth sets for a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) victory and a place in his first Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic.
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