Dominic Thiem came from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev and make his first Australian Open final on Friday, booking a clash with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.
The 26-year-old, the first player from Austria ever to reach the final of the Happy Slam, battled past seventh-ranked Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4).
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. However, Thiem has won the last four of the five matches he has played against Djokovic and has a superior 2-1 record against his next opponent in Grand Slams.
During the French Open, Thiem put up a masterclass to defeat the 16-time Major winner. He will need to come up with something similar in two days time.
At the moment, Thiem is the toast of the tennis world and is tipped to pull off an upset in the final and become the first male player to be born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam.
Here’s how Twitter lauded Thiem’s genius:
Thiem Supreme@ThiemDomi earns his way into a maiden #AusOpen final 3-6 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(4) over Zverev to meet Djokovic for the title.#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/EtzpDLDtgn
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 31, 2020
Tennis’ Big Three — Novak Djokovic (7), Roger Federer (5), Rafael Nadal (1) — have won all but one of the last 14 #AusOpen titles (Stan Wawrinka in 2014, the odd man out!), but Dominic Thiem now has a chance to upset the established order!#AusOpen2020
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) January 31, 2020
Deserving win for Thiem, who carries on his tiebreaker winstreak to make his first Australian Open final.
— Matthew Willis (@MattRacquet) January 31, 2020
Worth noting that Zverev is 4(!) years younger than Thiem (despite seeming to have been around forever). This tournament was a *huge* stepping stone forward for the German.
Thiem played Nadal in his 2 RG finals. Now he plays Djokovic at Aus Open:
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) January 31, 2020
"I'm always facing the kings of a Grand Slam in the final."
Thiem's opponent in 2018 Roland Garros final: best player ever on Court Philippe-Chatrier
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) January 31, 2020
Thiem's opponent in 2019 Roland Garros final: best player ever on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Thiem's opponent in 2020 Australian Open final: best player ever on Rod Laver Arena
After 25 GS finals, #Djokovic faces an opponent younger than him in the #AusOpen2020 final.#Thiem #AusOpen
— Roger Laver (@DonaldTendulkar) January 31, 2020
Dominic Thiem into his third Grand Slam final, his first in Australia. But it's usually abandon hope ye who enter here when it's Djokovic on the other side at this event.
— Mike Dickson (@Mike_Dickson_DM) January 31, 2020
"In the last four years, Dominic Thiem is the only one to have defeated
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) January 31, 2020
Federer on everything (outdoor hard, indoor hard, clay, grass)
Nadal more than 3 times on clay
Djokovic more than three times anywhere " https://t.co/ZgwfZaHga7
Djokovic is the very clear favorite by any measurement. Thiem, though, has done enough in his career at major tournaments (and against Djokovic, albeit not on hardcourts) to not be written off completely.#OuiGonnaSee
— Matt Zemek (@mzemek) January 31, 2020
#AustralianOpenNaEspn Thiem, Mister Tie Break 🎾
— SANDRO FREIRE (@SANDRODESFREIR2) January 31, 2020
Five tiebreaks won to zero lost across his last two matches.
— Abigail Johnson (@abigailtennis) January 31, 2020
Thiem lost the ATP Finals final to Tsitsipas in a deciding tiebreak, having beaten Federer and Djokovic.
It was crushing. But as he's been doing repeatedly during #AusOpen matches, he went straight back to work.
Thiem is pretty clutch when it comes to tiebreaks. Nearly threw it away here but Zverev (despite his amazing first serve %age) was underwhelming in the tiebreak too. Remains to be seen if Thiem's risky shots come off against Djokovic in the final. #AusOpen
— Rohith Nair (@RohithNair) January 31, 2020
Congrats to Dominic. The two best harcourt players in the world in the final. Thiem has a good shot of winning this. One of the few who can take Djokovic racket out of his hand. #AO2020
— AR (@Athique57) January 31, 2020
Third Slam final for Domi #Thiem. Can he go a step further? A 7-time #AusOpen champ awaits on Sunday. Just like a 10-time (2018) and 11-time (2019) French champ awaited him in Paris. #ThiemZverev
— Aditya Iyer (@adi_iyr) January 31, 2020
I feel scare seeing Thiem movement, defense, offense, serve, volley, forehand, backhand.
— Serve Fault🐊 (@serviserror) January 31, 2020
He’s complete player who are deserve to win Major
I never feel this scare going to Major Final before, i do now.
Will it be third time luck for Dominic Thiem in Grand Slam final? Tremendous tennis from the Austrian to fight back against Alexander Zverev & reach the #AusOpen final. Novak Djokovic will be the heavy favourite though… https://t.co/Ewy5JXTdqG
— Uche Amako (@UcheAmako) January 31, 2020