World number 3 and 2nd seed Dominic Thiem have won on 7 out of 9 occasions he has clashed with Alexander Zverev. The Australia has won 3 of his last encounters against him, including a 4-set win in the semi-final of Ausralian Open this year. It was Zverev’s maiden Grand Slam semis but Thiem had ended his party then. Here in New York, Zverev has become the youngest Grand Slam finalist in 10 years.
Thiem has been relentless with his serves and have emerged victorious in the long rallies. That means Zverev has to be at his best from the word go. Longer the duration of the match, more will be the chances for Thiem to win, the Austrian is tireless.
18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova has termed Zverev’s tactics as ‘pat-a-cake’ tennis. She has opined that a more aggressive approach is required to become a Grand Slam champion. Zverev won in the quarters after losing his first set against Borna Coric, then in semis he was two sets down before making an cmeback against Spain’s Busta.
Dominic Thiem will surely run away with the match if given this much of time.