Dominic Thiem wins first Grand Slam title at US Open
What a US open it was, with the event finally getting the go-ahead to take place this month. Defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic crashed out of the tournament, following his surprise disqualification. That left it open for a new champion to be crowned, with numerous other big names not in attendance. It resulted in world number three and second seed Dominic Thiem picking up his first Grand Slam title.
Thiem had entered the tournament amongst the favourites in the New York betting markets, with Djokovic the overwhelming odds-on favourite. This proved to be a popular betting event for punters, in a market that has continued to evolve in New York since introducing the necessary legislation in July of 2019. The support behind Thiem was of little surprise, considering his form in the Grand Slam events over recent years.
The 27-year-old Austrian has now firmly established himself as a major force in the tennis world and finally broken the long standing strangle hold of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. In 2018, Thiem reached his first Grand Slam final, when contesting for the French Open title against Rafael Nadal. It resulted in a very one-sided match with Nadal winning in straight sets (6-4, 6-3, 6-2) and in the process equalling Margaret’s Court’s all-time record of 11 Grand Slam titles at one major. Despite this heavy defeat, there were lots of positives to take for Thiem and it firmly put him on the map as a future major winner.
The following season saw a similar story at the French Open, with Nadal heading in as the overwhelming favourite but Thiem continuing his impressive progression. It turned out to be the same final as 2018 andt a similar result, with Nadal winning in four sets and breaking the previously mentioned all-time record of victories at one major. The match finished 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, with Nadal taking control of the latter stages of the match and dropping just two matches across the final two sets. However, this was a more competitive match against a near unbeatable Nadal on clay. This again showed the progression of Thiem, who also beat Novak Djokovic over five sets in the semi-finals.
Following these positive results, Thiem was expected to push for a major title in 2020, as he also continued to climb the world rankings. He opened up the season by reaching the final of the Australian Open but again had to settle for second, as he was beaten over five sets by world number one Novak Djokovic. The match finished 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. This was a very competitive affair, as Thiem looked set for victory moving into the fourth set. Unfortunately for him it was not to be, as Djokovic won his eighth Australian Open title and 17th overall Grand Slam title, moving him ever nearer to topping the all-time list. Despite again losing, there were so many positives to take and it was clear it was only a matter of time before Thiem would finally get his hands on a Grand Slam title.
This proved to be the case and why he proved a popular betting selection moving into the 2020 US Open recently. With Djokovic’s disqualification, it further added to his chances as he progressed through to the final following straight-set victories in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals, these coming against Alex de Minaur and then Daniil Medvedev. This meant he set up a final against fifth seed Alexander Zverev, in which he started as the favourite to win his first Grand Slam title.
Thiem dropped the opening two sets but turned this around by winning the next three sets in succession. This was a memorable success and he now looks to win many more majors in the future.
