Austrian sensation Dominic Thiem reached the final of the Australian Open by defeating Alexander Zverev
Dominic Thiem reached the final of the Australian Open after a great win over Alexander Zverev in the semis.
The 26-year-old Austrian had gotten the better of Rafael Nadal in the previous round, and that seemed to affect him with Zverev winning the first set.
However, things turned around for the Austrian when some familiar music blasted around the arena.
During one of the breaks, Neil Diamond’s hit ‘Sweet Caroline’ was played and that got Thiem back in the groove.
The 26-year-old went on to win the next three sets and dominated Zverev in some games too.
John McEnroe came out to interview Thiem and asked him about the turnaround. The Austrian first claimed that playing against Nadal wasn’t easy but the former US star then got down to the music bit:
“There is a stoppage in play and they are playing Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. You look like you had a big smile on your face, and all of a sudden you got on a great run, so I am guessing, you’re a Neil Diamond fan?”
Thiem was smiling throughout the question and claimed that this song reminded him of Austria:
“Yeah, I like that song. I felt like I am in Austria on a skiing holiday, because that’s where they play this song all the time.”
The response got a lot of laughs from the crowd in the arena with McEnroe having a chuckle too.
Big test lies ahead for Thiem
Facing Novak Djokovic will not be easy for the Austrian. The Serbian has looked great in the tournament, and he defeated Roger Federer to reach the finals of the Australian Open.
Thiem did defeat Nadal on his way to the final, and that is a monkey off his back. The Spaniard beat the 26-year-old in two French Open finals in the past, but Djokovic is another major test for Thiem.
The Austrian is yet to win a Grand Slam, but if he plays with the same form, there could be major problems for Djokovic too.
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Djokovic leads the head-to-head between the two players with a 6-4 lead. However, Thiem has won four out of the last five meetings between the pair, with the most recent win in the 2019 ATP Finals.
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