Sad news: tennis great Alexander Zverev has announced his mother’s passing.
In the US Open final on Sunday, Alexander Zverev defeated Dominic Thiem by two sets to love and a break in the third game. Ultimately, he was just two points away from winning his maiden Grand Slam championship.
Rather, Thiem won a significant award for the first time in his professional life. After four hours and one minute, the 27-year-old Austrian prevailed in a fifth-set tiebreaker by fighting his way back from a 6-2, 6-4, and 2-1 deficit. He took victory right out of the mouths of defeat, causing Zverev, a longtime friend, to suffer heartbreak.
The German, rated sixth, was left wondering what could have been and hoping for a better future.
“I was so near to winning the Grand Slam,” Zverev said during his news conference, which began with a tearful trophy presentation. “I was close, maybe a couple of games or a few points away. I mean, I am twenty-three. This is not likely my last opportunity. I firmly think that I will eventually win the Grand Slam.
The No. 5 seed nearly prevailed in the championship match in what would have been an unexpected straight sets. It is not that he will regret that lost opportunity. In the end, he was just two points away from taking the fifth set. At 5-3, Zverev served for the title, but he was unable to cross the finish line. In the crucial tiebreaker, Thiem was obviously not going at full speed and was plainly cramping, so he also took the lead early.
Regretfully for Zverev, Thiem was not the only person experiencing mental and physical difficulties. Both of them were. Finally, Thiem was the last man left standing.
Zverev said, “Obviously, losing in a Grand Slam final after two sets to love and a breakup is not easy.” When he broke me in the third set for the first time, the match shifted. I believe that when I started playing lot worse, he started playing much better. The match changed at that point. But after that, I still had a lot of opportunities.
“The fifth set is what really bothered me, not the third set. In the fifth set, I had many of opportunities, but I did not take them. Really, I was having cramps in the tiebreaker. I was unable to push off anymore because my left quad was cramping. I couldn’t genuinely hit the first serve anymore. That was the rationale behind my decision to reduce the speed of my serve.
