At 27, Austrian Dominic Thiem reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament for the fourth time in his career: after his victory against Russian Raniil Medvedev, he will face Alexander Zverev in an attempt to win a first title. 

Austria's Dominic Thiem, 3rd in the world, qualified for the final of the US Open, where he joined the German Alexander Zverev (7th), eliminating the Russian Daniil Medvedev (5th) 6-2, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/5), Friday at Flushing Meadows.

A fourth Grand Slam final

At 27, Thiem reached this stage for the fourth time in his career in a Grand Slam tournament.

He had lost each time at Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal in 2018 and 2019, and during the last Australian Open, in February, against Novak Djokovic.

He will therefore have a fourth chance, his first in the New York Major where his punching power continues to do considerable damage, since Medvedev, however impressive him too during this fortnight - he had not lost a single set so far. -, ultimately did not make the weight.

The Russian, heroic finalist last year against Rafael Nadal, fought very well, but can blame himself for being temporarily out of his first set, at 3-2, due to a challenge that He was initially denied, before Thiem asked the referee to grant it.

The result proved right for the Russian, who apologized to the Austrian, but he did not regain his composure, expressing his sarcasm towards the supervisor.

This benefited Thiem, who went on to win eight of the next nine points to escape and take off the sleeve. 

"I feel a little lucky on the first set"

"I feel a bit lucky in the first set, with what happened. After that we both played great tennis," he admitted afterwards.

The next two rounds were very close, the two players offering at times high level exchanges, and decided on the decisive games.

During the first, the Austrian batter had to save a set point, before managing to conclude on yet another forehand drumstick. 

The second tie-break, which came after Thiem managed to break free to equalize at 5-5, saw Medvedev crack with unforced errors at the worst moment, to lose in 2 h 55 min.

The Austrian, who received treatment for his right ankle in the third set, could exult: he will play his first US Open final on Sunday against Zverev, whom he had stopped in the semi-final in Melbourne at the end of January.