Dominic Thiem’s victory at the US Open final was nothing short of extraordinary. Here, we look beyond the match stats to find out how he pulled it off.
One week ago today, Dominic Thiem stunned the tennis world with a brilliant 5-set comeback thriller against Alexander Zverev in the US Open final of 2020. While the match stats do not reveal any areas of dominance for Thiem over Zverev, the answer to how the Austrian secured that first Grand Slam victory may lie beyond the data.
Upon looking at the match stats, one may wonder how Dominic Thiem sealed the win at the US Open Final, as the stats are rather unfavorable. In fact, Zverev appears to have a slight advantage overall, particularly with his service game, demonstrating almost double the number of aces as Thiem, more first-serves in, and a slightly higher win percentage of those first serves.
Now the question remains: What did Thiem have over Zverev which enabled him to come out as the victor? Rather than pointlessly searching for an advantageous statistic in Thiem’s favor, it is preferable to define some prominent differences in the playstyles of each player and draw out possible advantages of such differences.
So, what is the most notable difference between Thiem and Zverev’s tennis styles? You guessed it. The backhand. While Zverev equips himself with the increasingly popular double-handed backhand, Thiem has opted for the lesser-seen single-handed backhand.
While this fact may not appear to have any implications regarding Thiem’s win at first glance, particularly with the current world number one, Novak Djokovic, possessing a double-hander, it is still worth investigating for this particular scenario, and here’s why.
Single-handed versus Double-handed
As you would expect, there is no definite answer as to which method of hitting a backhand is above the other. However, based on the type of match at hand, and the types of players contending on the court, the choice of backhand for each player will begin to show some subtle, but serious implications.
The overwhelming popularity of the double-handed backhand usage is a testament to its easy-to-learn nature as well as its effectiveness and efficiency, making it the preferred choice for most tennis newcomers. In many ways, the two-hander possesses more benefits than the one-hander, such as its higher level of control, convenience, and consistency.
On the other hand (pun intended), the single-handed backhand is more of an ‘x-factor’ in terms of the benefits it brings with its use. This is due to the ‘higher risk but higher reward’ nature of the shot. The one-hander is a little more technically complicated than its two-handed counterpart, but the advantages to be gained in terms of reach, free-flowing strokes, and follow-through are quite significant once fully mastered.
Implications for the match
In the case of Thiem vs Zverev, there were moments in which each of their backhands shined. The control and stability of the two-handed backhand ensured more consistency and quicker recovery time for Zverev. Additionally, he is remarked as having one of the best backhands in the game, due to his sheer power and accurate shot-making.
Contrastingly, Thiem’s one-handed backhand allowed him to really reach out when receiving those wide-angled shots, which is a crucial attribute when versing a player of Zverev’s caliber. Furthermore, Thiem was able to more subtly incorporate backhand slices into the match, as the setup for the shot bears a resemblance to a typical flat or topspin backhand stroke.
While it may be argued that Zverev’s backhand is a more dominant weapon than Thiem’s, it may just be the case that Thiem’s single-handed backhand was enough to mitigate that damage received. The constant one-handed slices which Thiem has perfected throughout his career proved to be a strong counterplay for the relentless groundstrokes dished out by Zverev, and the extended reach was essential in responding to the German’s wide, cross-court shots.
In the event of a four-hour long match such as this, there’s no doubt that stamina became a key factor for both players, particularly towards the final set. It is also true that hitting big topspin shots will take more out of the players than slice returns, which emphasize more on underspin rather than power.
For this reason, Thiem’s experience with the one-handed backhand had strengthened his ability to play that backhand slice game to downplay Zverev’s big topspin shots, and also would have kept him guessing as to what kind of backhand stroke was coming his way, due to the ambiguity of the single-handed backswing set-up.
All in all, the match between Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev at the US Open finals 2020 was one for the records, and as much as we may speculate on how Thiem prevailed, it may well have been a stroke of better luck at the important moments. Nonetheless, the single-handed backhand was an essential piece of the puzzle and might just be Thiem’s hidden trump card moving forward.