After three
successive final defeats, 27-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem has set himself up with the best opportunity yet to lift that elusive maiden Grand Slam title.

The World Number three lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal in the Rolland Garros final
in 2018. However, he managed to take a set off the Spaniard when the two met
again in a rematch the following year.

He then
narrowly lost to current World Number one Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller
in the Australian Open final earlier this year.

With Roger
Federer and Rafael Nadal giving Flushing Meadows a miss this year, in addition
to Djokovic being disqualified after hitting a line judge with the ball in a
fit of anger, the 2020 US Open represented Thiem’s best chance to break his
Grand Slam duck.

However,
his title credentials took a hit when he suffered a shock defeat in the opening
round of the Western and Southern Open, losing to Serbian Filip Krajinovic in
straight sets (6-2, 6-1).

The second
seeded Austrian’s campaign for a maiden Grand Slam also had a wobbly start
against Spaniard Jaume Munar, with the Austrian qualifying for Round 2 because
of Munar’s injury.

Thiem found
his feet against the spirited Indian Sumit Nagal, defeating him in straight
sets and looking like his formidable old self since.

It was a resilient
showing against the bookies favourite Daniil Medvedev that ensured his berth in
the final. The third seeded Russian was serving for the second and third sets
although Thiem rallied back each time to eventually record a straight sets victory.

“That was a
great match on a very high level. (It) was probably the toughest straight-sets
win I’ve ever had. I could have easily been one (or) two sets down. He served
for the second and third sets. Luckily, I played my best tennis towards the end
of both of these sets,” Theim was quoted saying on the ATP website.

Only fifth-seeded
German Alexander Zverev remains between him and his first Grand Slam crown.

“It’s the
biggest goal and the biggest dream I’ve had in my tennis career for a few
years, since the moment I realised that maybe I can make it one day and
especially since I played [my] first final at 2018 Roland Garros,” he said.