Dominic Thiem vs Alexander Zverev: US Open Preview and Prediction

Second seed Dominic Thiem squares off against fifth seed, Alexander Zverev in an exciting US Open final tonight. 

Key Insights

• Both Thiem and Zverev are vying for their first-ever Grand Slam title
• Thiem has lost all his three grand slam finals so far while Zverev is playing his first Grand Slam final.
• Thiem leads the head to head record 7-2 and is 3-1 on hard-courts.
• Thiem has won his last 10 sets at the US Open.
• Zverev has never beaten Thiem in a Grand Slam

In a Grand Slam where the Next-Gen has announced itself to the world, Thiem would look to become the leader of the pack. After a rusty start, the Austrian found form in the quarterfinals. 21st seed, Alex De Minaur did not have any answers as Thiem played aggressive tennis from start to finish dispatching him 6-1 6-2 6-4. 

Facing last year's finalist, Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals who had won all his matches in straight sets, Thiem went up a notch higher winning 6-2 7-6 7-6. Though the Russian was leading in the second and third set, Thiem brought all his fighting qualities into play making Medvedev pay for his mistakes with a barrage of powerful groundstrokes. 

On the other hand, Zverev has made strong comebacks from near-impossible situations despite playing off-colour tennis sometimes. He was trailing 6-1 against Borna Coric in the quarterfinals before bringing his firepower game into play claiming the next three sets 7-6 6-3 6-3 to clinch a spot in the final four. 

In the semifinals, Zverev started slowly losing the first two sets 6-3 6-2 to Pablo Carreno Bust but bounced back winning the next three sets 6-3 6-4 6-3 to enter his maiden grand slam final. 

”When you start playing tennis at a young age, the thing that you always wanted to do is play in big tournaments [and] the big finals, I feel like this is the reason I started playing tennis, you’ve got to be able to handle it… for me, it was always about the big moments in big tournaments," said Zverev sounding optimistic about his prospects. 

”I won’t change my mindset at all, I know what Sascha is capable of, he’s a hell of a player, one of the greatest ones in [the] past years, won all titles besides a major, it’s going to be a super difficult match," reckoned Thiem praising Zverev ahead of the showdown.

History is in the reckoning for Zverev. If he wins today, he would become the first German grand slam champion since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open. 

If Thiem loses today, he would fall to 0-4 in major finals joining the likes of Ivan Lendl and Andy Murray. 

Zverev would rely on his booming big-serve and first-strike tennis to come good while Thiem would depend on his mercurial forehand and court coverage to do the job. 

Zverev will have to reduce his unforced errors and try to close out points short. Indulging in long baseline rallies would work to Thiem's advantage. Whatever be the outcome tonight, men's tennis will welcome a new grand slam champion soon. 

Prediction - Dominic Thiem to win in four sets and become the US Open champion

Featured image credits: US Open - Twitter