Dominic Thiem said he achieved a life’s ambition after capturing the US Open title in a dramatic final at Flushing Meadows on Sunday night.
Speaking after his remarkable victory over Alexander Zverev in Sunday night’s epic final, Thiem said, “Definitely achieved a life goal, a dream, which I had for many, many years. Back then it was so far away. Then I got closer to the top and realized that maybe one day I could really win one of the four biggest titles.
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“I dedicated basically my whole life until this point to win one. Now I did it. That’s for myself, my team and family, a great accomplishment. Today is the day where I gave back huge amount of what they did for me.”
Belgium’s Thiem came back from two sets down to defeat Germany’s Zverev and claim one of the most incredible comeback victories in recent Grand Slam memory.
Zverev raced into a two-set lead, but Thiem dug deep and came storming back into the contest to set up a thrilling final set.
The action went back and forth in a nerve-shredding final battle as Thiem eventually claimed victory 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (6) to claim his first Grand Slam title.
Now he has that first ‘Slam under his belt, Thiem said he hopes he’ll feel more at home in the big tournaments.
“I expect it’s going to be easier for me now in the biggest tournaments,” said Thiem, whose title win made him the first player outside of tennis’ “Big Three” to win a Grand Slam title since Stan Wawrinka’s US Open win in 2016.
“I had it in the back of my head that I had a great career so far, way better than I could ever dreamt of, but until today there was still a big goal missing.
“With this achieved, I hope that I’m going to be a little bit more relaxed and play a little bit more freely at the biggest events.”
