US Open champion Dominic Thiem says his "whole life" has been dedicated to winning his maiden Grand Slam title.
Austrian second seed Thiem fought back from two sets down to beat Germany's Alexander Zverev in yesterday's final.
Thiem who is 27-years-old overcame a nervous start - and being unable to serve out victory in a tense deciding set - to win 2-6 4-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in New York.
The world number three said he has achieved a life goal, a dream which h had for many, many years.
He says he has dedicated his whole life until this point to win one of the four majors.
It had to be like this - my career was always like the match today - many ups and downs and I love the way it turned out. pic.twitter.com/ksFDgIfws8
— Dominic Thiem (@ThiemDomi) September 14, 2020
Thiem is the first man born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam singles title.
He has been one of the most consistent players on the ATP Tour over the past five years, winning 17 titles and qualifying for every year-end ATP Finals since 2016.
BBC Sports reports Thiem has now reached the final at the Australian, French and US Opens, but that success has so far not translated to Wimbledon, where he has won only five matches in the six years he has competed at SW19.
This year's US Open was an unusual tournament, where several top players did not compete because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the event was held behind closed doors in almost empty stadiums.
That led to some pundits and players suggesting there would always be an asterisk next to the winners in the history books.
However, while six of the women's top 10 did not play, only 2019 champion Rafael Nadal of Spain, injured Swiss great Roger Federer and France's Gael Monfils were missing from the men's top 10.
[Source: BBC]
