Dominic Thiem fell on his back inside Arthur Ashe Stadium at 8:19 p.m. Sunday evening. After a wild four hours and one minute of back-and-forth action in the US Open final, the Austrian briefly stared up into the New York night before covering his face with his hands for five seconds. The Austrian was in disbelief. He had finally accomplished his lifelong dream of winning a Grand Slam title.

“It was such a big relief,” said Thiem, who rallied past Alexander Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(6). “It’s just the highest thing [that] you can achieve in tennis.”

The second seed became the first player in the Open Era to overcome a two-set deficit in the US Open final, battling from the brink of defeat on numerous occasions and overcoming visible cramping towards the end of the fifth set. In the end it didn’t matter how he did it. Thiem was just thrilled he made his dream come true.

“I achieved a life goal, a dream [for] myself, which I had for many, many years. Of course [I had that dream] as a kid as well when I started to play tennis. But back then it was so far away,” Thiem said. “At one point I realised that, ‘Wow, maybe one day I can really win one of the four biggest titles in tennis.’ 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.”

Dominic Thiem” />

Thiem was desperate to lift a major trophy. Three times previously he had reached the final of a Grand Slam and fallen short. He entered Sunday’s US Open championship match as the favourite for the first time. The Austrian was so agonisingly close to achieving his biggest goal. That made it even more difficult for him to win.

“Maybe it was not even good that I played in previous major finals,” Thiem said.

Nobody on the ATP Tour swings freer than Thiem. The Austrian is known for his massive groundstrokes and incredible shotmaking. If there’s one player who doesn’t get cheated when he swings, it’s Thiem.

But in the biggest match of his career, the 27-year-old’s loose swings were restricted. The more Thiem wanted the trophy, the tighter he got.

“I wanted this title so much and of course [it] was also in my head that if I lost this one, it’s 0-4 [in major finals],” Thiem said. “It’s always in your head: ‘Is this chance ever coming back again?’ This, that, all these thoughts, which are not great to play your best tennis, to play free.”

When Zverev broke in the third set to move close to victory, it was a tough moment for Thiem. His dream was slipping away. But he never gave up hope.

“It was tough to stay there and to still believe. But I did. It’s a Slam final,” Thiem said. “I always had hope and the expectation that at one point I’d free up. Luckily it was not too late when I broke him back in the third set. The belief was always there. From that moment, when I broke him back for [2-2] in the third set, the belief got stronger and stronger.”

Full credit goes to Zverev for playing some of his best tennis to put Thiem in a deep hole. The Austrian expected an “open match” when he walked on court. Despite leading their ATP Head2Head series 7-2, Thiem knew he was facing a tough foe. Even after turning around the match and leading by a break in the fifth set, the second seed couldn’t run away with it. Zverev refused to go down without a fight.

It was ironic that Thiem, who is known for his cannon-like one-handed backhand, which he launches both cross-court and down the line, physically couldn’t use that shot down the stretch. With his legs almost gone, Thiem holstered that weapon and often used his slice to avoid swinging himself out of the match.

“The belief in myself [was] not enough because Sascha, I’m sure he believed himself as well 100 per cent,” Thiem said. “Two guys like that played a match against each other. That’s obviously how it finished, in a fifth-set tie-break.”

When Thiem is at his soaring best, he is capable of taking the match to anyone in the world. Now that he has finally made his dream come true, the Austrian believes he’ll be able to perform at an even higher level.

“I expect that it’s going to be easier for me now in the biggest tournaments because, of course, I had it in the back of my head that I had a great career so far, way better career than I could ever dreamt of. But until today there was still a big part, a big goal missing,” Thiem said. “With this goal achieved, I think and I hope that I’m going to be a little bit more relaxed and play a little bit more freely at the biggest events.”

No matter what happens in the future, Thiem will never forget this moment. His body nor a game opponent were able to stop him. Nobody will ever be able to take away Thiem’s Grand Slam trophy.

“It was the first time [in] years and years that I was cramping. But I guess it was not physical cramps, it was mentally. I was super, super tight the whole day actually and then in the beginning of the match,” Thiem said. “Somehow the belief today was stronger than the body and I’m super happy about that.”

Fifth seed Alexander Zverev got off to a perfect start on Sunday in the US Open final, sprinting to a 6-2, 6-4 lead against second seed Dominic Thiem as both men pursue their first Grand Slam title.

In 25 of the past 27 years, the player who took the opening set has gone on to lift the title in New York. The winner of this match will become the 55th Grand Slam champion of the Open Era and the 150th of all time.

Zverev, 23, looks to become the youngest Grand Slam winner since Juan Martin del Potro (20) at the 2009 US Open. A win would also make him the first German winner of a major championship since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open. He seeks his first title in 15 months (2019 Geneva) and only his second since winning the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals.

Showtime. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/ZmWZtgU55V

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Thiem saved a break point in the opening game with a big inside-out forehand, but a nervy service game at 1-1 saw him hand a break to Zverev with a double fault and pair of baseline errors. He only landed 37 per cent of first serves throughout the opening set and gave Zverev numerous opportunities to get on top of rallies. Thiem won just 29 per cent (5/17) of his second-serve points.

Zverev avoided the slow starts he had in his past two matches, cracking his groundstrokes with authority and racking up 16 winners to just six unforced errors. The ball toss issues he had at times throughout the tournament were also non-existent. Zverev landed 68 per cent of his first serves and won all but one point behind that delivery (12/13). The fifth seed scored an insurance break at 4-2 and required just 45 seconds to serve out the opening set.

Thiem’s struggles continued in the second set. Zverev rifled a down-the-line forehand winner at 1-1 to set up break point and converted when Thiem sent a routine forehand long. He hadn’t dropped serve more than twice in a match en route to the final, but was broken in three of his first five service games.

The German also took advantage of his opponent standing well behind the baseline to return by serving-and-volleying on several occasions. Even when Thiem put the return in play, Zverev only needed to hit a solid mid-court volley to end the point.

Zverev scored an insurance break at 3-1 as Thiem hit another forehand long. But nerves crept in as the 23-year-old attempted to close out the set. Thiem bravely saved three set points at 1-5 to hold serve, then Zverev failed to convert a fourth set point when he sent an easy forehand volley wide. The missed opportunity enabled Thiem to eventually score his first break of the match.

Although Thiem’s confidence grew and he began to find his top form, Zverev served out the set on his second attempt, striking a down-the-line backhand on his fifth set point. He significantly outnumbered Thiem in winners after the first two sets (24 to 12) while also hitting fewer unforced errors (20 to 21).

Zverev trails Thiem 2-7 in their ATP Head2Head series and has lost their past three matches, including a four-set defeat in this year’s Australian Open semi-finals.

Following in the footsteps of Santiago champion Thiago Seyboth Wild, Miomir Kecmanovic on Sunday became the second #NextGenATP player this year to capture his maiden ATP Tour crown. The 21-year-old claimed his fifth victory of the week against Yannick Hanfmann to capture the Generali Open trophy in Kitzbühel.

Kecmanovic had already shown signs that he was ready to claim his first tour-level crown earlier this year. The 2019 Antalya runner-up reached semi-finals at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha and the New York Open.

ATPTour.com caught up with the World No. 47 after his victory to talk about his title run, what he learned after his first final appearance last year and what he got up to during his time away from the ATP Tour.

What does it mean to you to win your first ATP Tour title?
It means a lot [to win my first ATP Tour title]. I worked so hard for this. I am definitely happy that I was able to achieve it so quickly.

Miomir Kecmanovic is the second #NextGenATP player to capture an ATP Tour title this year.” />

Did the experience of already playing an ATP Tour final in Antalya help you at all today?
Mentally it was a tough one [in Antalya]. I had match point and didn’t end up winning so it was really a heartbreak. I have had a lot of experiences since then, played a lot more tougher matches and I think that definitely paid off.

Your best results have typically come on faster surfaces. Are you doing anything differently on the clay this year?
I am surprised. Usually I play a lot better on faster surfaces. Here it is a little bit faster than normal clay courts, because we are at altitude. I think that worked to my advantage a little bit. I am really happy that I am able to win my first title on clay.

Are you surprised to pick up where you left off with your game after six months of no matches?
Maybe a little bit, because two months ago I broke an arm. I didn’t think I was going to come back so quickly and play such good tennis. I am really happy that I was able to bounce back from that in a relatively short period of time.

Has the time away made you view your career or life on Tour any differently?
I think it made me just appreciate it a bit more because, when we play, everything happens so quickly and you don’t really think about it. We had such a long time of not doing anything and you really appreciate the opportunities we get as tennis players.

Talk about what you did during the ATP Tour suspension. How did you manage to keep working on your game and fitness?
I just practised the whole time. I took some breaks between, but I was usually just practising. Nothing too crazy, just keeping in shape and staying ready for when the Tour resumed.

Did you pick up any new interests or skills during those five months?
I have done a lot more reading back home than I normally do. I tried to do as much of the things that I couldn’t do while I was playing, from cleaning up the house to random things like going outside and learning how to ride a motorcycle. Some crazy stuff.

Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor captured their maiden ATP Tour trophy as a team on Sunday, beating Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6(5), 7-5 at the Generali Open in Kitzbühel.

The American-Croatian team saved seven of 10 break points across the two-hour, five-minute contest to triumph in their first tour-level championship match as a pairing. Krajicek and Skugor entered the tournament with a 4-4 team record, having joined forces at the ASB Classic in January.

“It has been an awesome week,” said Krajicek. “It was a great way for us to start the clay-court season and we are working hard as a team. I think it is coming together a little bit, so hopefully we can keep going in Rome and at Roland Garros.”

The fourth seeds were made to work hard from their first match at the ATP 250. In each of their three matches en route to the final, Krajicek and Skugor clinched victories in Match Tie-breaks.

This is Krajicek’s fourth victory in nine ATP Tour doubles finals. Skugor has now lifted six trophies from nine tour-level doubles championship matches.

“It was a very strange match with a lot of breaks, but I still thought the quality was pretty good. We were all returning very good. There were a lot of ups and downs, but I am happy we managed to win this one,” said Skugor.

Granollers and Zeballos were aiming to become the first doubles pair to win three ATP Tour titles this year. In February, the top seeds won back-to-back trophies on clay at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires and the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Krajicek and Skugor earn 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points and share €8,840 in prize money. Granollers and Zeballos earn 150 points and split €6,450.