u2018 It was an unreal matchu2019 menu2019s singles semis 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 u201c kingu201d. 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.
u201c It was an unreal match, two tie- breakers, so tough and so close. It was almost impossible to break him,u201d said Thiem.
u201c Being in the Australian Open final is unreal. What a start to the season for me,u201d he added.
Djokovic is waiting Defending champion Djokovic awaits him after the second seed ended Roger Federeru2019s dreams in straight sets on Thursday to make his eighth Melbourne Park final. u201c Heu2019s the king of Australia,u201d 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.
But there is a glimmer of hopeu2014 Djokovic is 6- 4 in their head- to- heads, but Thiem has won four of the last five. u201c Itu2019s 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.u201d 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.
AFP Sweet Caroline brings back happy memories for Thiem Melbourne: 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. u201c I like this song,u201d he said. u201c I felt like I was in Austria on skiing holidays, because thatu2019s where they play that song all the time. That loosened me up a bit,u201d he added.
Two No. of Grand Slam finals ( both French Open) Dominic Thiem has entered before this Australian Open Dominic Thiem ecstatic after rallying from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev and enter maiden Australian Open final Dominic Thiem celebrates his semifinal win over Alexander Zverev in Melbourne yesterday. PICs/ GETT Y IMAGES Alexander Zverev during yesterdayu2019s semi- final
