The match was destined to head to a deciding fifth-set tiebreaker, and by the time they reached it, both players looked worn down physically. On his third match point, Thiem watched as a Zverev backhand sailed wide, and the Austrian dropped to the ground after completing his comeback in a match that lasted just over four hours. “I achieved a life goal,” said Thiem. “I put a lot of work in. I dedicated basically my whole life until this point to win one of the four majors. Now I did it. That’s also, for myself, a great accomplishment. It’s not only myself, it’s an accomplishment for all of my team, for all my family.” One man’s jubilation is another’s heartbreak in a match like this. It was a tough defeat for Zverev, who had come back from two-sets-to-love down in his semifinal match, but the German was pleased with his fortnight in New York City. ”I want to congratulate Dominic on the first of many Grand Slam titles. I wish you could have missed a little more so I could be holding that trophy up, but here I am giving the runner-up speech,” Zverev said. “I want to thank my team for sticking with me. The past two years haven’t been easy in my tennis career. We’re definitely on the way up and I hope that one day we’re going to lift that trophy up together.”
Osaka Comes Back for Second U.S. Open Title Photo credit: Simon Bruty/USTA
victory. “I’ve always wanted to see what they see. For me, it was really an incredible moment. I’m really glad I did it.” It was a shaky start for the 22-year-old star as she committed 13 unforced errors and was broken three times in the opening set. “I think in the first set I was so nervous,” Osaka admitted. “I wasn’t moving my feet. I felt like I was not playing, not that I expect myself to play 100 percent, but it would be nice if I could even play like 70 percent. I just felt like I was too much in my own head.” Azarenka broke again in the beginning of the second set and was on the brink of a 3-0 lead. But Osaka continued to fight, and got the break back, and would go on to win 12 of the next 16 games to win the match. “I think it’s definitely been a great three weeks of tennis,” said Azarenka. “I haven’t had such results in quite a long time, so I’m very excited for it. Today, it’s a loss, but it doesn’t change for me much. Of course, I would have loved to win today. It is what it is…It was a lot of fun for me to play and to be in the final of the U.S. Open. I’m very grateful for this opportunity.” Osaka is now the owner of three major titles, and may be the new face of women’s tennis. “I would definitely say it's been an important few months. For me, my life was always go, go tennis-wise, especially after the previous US Open that I won. It definitely accelerated things, and I've never had a chance to slow down,” she said. “The quarantine definitely gave me a chance to think a lot about things, what I want to accomplish, what I want people to remember me by. For me, I came into this tournament, or these two tournaments, with that mindset. I think it definitely helped me out.”
Siegemund, Zvonareva Win Women’s Doubles Title in First Tourney Together
Naomi Osaka made headlines before the U.S. Open even started, and continued to do so throughout her three-week stay in the New York bubble. That culminated with a comeback victory over an in-form Victoria Azarenka in the U.S. Open Women’s Singles final, fighting back to claim her second U.S. Open trophy 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. “I was thinking about all the times I’ve watched the great players sort of collapse onto the ground and look up into the sky,” said Osaka, referring to her laying on the court after her 16
Photo credit: Mike Lawrence/USTA
Competing together in their first tournament, Germany’s Laura
New York Tennis Magazine • September/October 2020 • NYTennisMag.com
