Dominic Thiem won in the Australian Open semi-finals
Dominic Thiem beat Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) in the Australian Open semi-finals on January 31.
Dominic Thiem 3-1 Alexander Zverev
After winning all three tie-break series in the quarter-final against Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem continued to dominate the series of brainstorming matches in the semi-final against Zverev. The Austrian won both tie-break series in the last two sets, to reach the final after more than three and a half hours.
The quarter-finals were four hours and 10 minutes with Nadal draining much of Thiem’s physical strength. Seed number five entered the somewhat sluggish match against Zverev and lost the first game delivery. Despite winning the next block game, Thiem lost two more games for the rest of the set and lost 3-6.
After having only five winners but making 13 self-defeating mistakes in the first set, Thiem played better in the second set. Zverev is no longer certain in delivered games. After reaching a 90% on the first set of the ball, the German serves the 69% on the second set.
Zverev only won 25% of the second ball, losing two games delivered in the set. Thiem lost a game and delivered 5-4, he almost missed the opportunity to close the game set. The 26-year-old, after an error smash, faced a break-point but scored three straight points to keep the game and won 6-4 in a set of two.
Thiem played more and more in the hand, but when Zverev returned with a first rate of 90% in the third set, the match became balanced. Each player wins the game once in this set. The tie-break series is needed, after Thiem saved two set-points with winning points. In the decisive series of the set, Thiem led 3-0. The Austrian player lost no serve, before winning the series with a score of 7-3.
Physical strength will be a problem for Thiem before the final against Djokovic. The Austrian tennis player shared that he went to bed at 5am after the quarter-finals for more than four hours with Nadal. Today, Thiem continued to spend three and a half hours to overcome Zverev. The disadvantage for Thiem is clear when Djokovic has not lost a set since the second round, and is given a day off more than the Austrian player.