Novak Djokovic sends message to Thiem and Zverev after epic US Open final

Novak Djokovic has congratulated Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev after their epic battle in the US Open final.

Austrian second seed Thiem fought back from two sets down to defeat Germany’s Zverev and win his first Grand Slam title on Sunday.

Thiem made a shocking start to the final but recovered superbly to win 2-6 4-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in New York. The 27-year-old is the first man born in the 1990s to win a Grand Slam singles title.

World number one Djokovic looked on course for a fourth US Open title but was disqualified during his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta after accidentally hitting a line official with the ball.

Reacting to Thiem and Zverev’s epic final, Djokovic tweeted: ‘This is what sport is all about. Respect, appreciation and friendship.

‘Thank you Domi and Sasha for standing strong for your character values and seeing always what matters the most – love & respect for each other. Congratulations to both of you.’

Thiem, meanwhile, speaking after lifting the US Open title, said: ‘I achieved a life goal, a dream of myself, which I had for many, many years.

‘I dedicated basically my whole life until this point to win one of the four majors. Now I did it. That’s also for myself a great accomplishment.

‘I mean, it’s by far not only myself, it’s an accomplishment from all my team, from all my family. I guess also today is the day where I gave back a huge amount of what they did for me.’

Zverev, meanwhile, insisted he still believes he will win a Grand Slam despite the disappointing nature of his defeat in New York.

‘I was super close to being a Grand Slam champion. I was a few games away, maybe a few points away,’ he said.

‘What upset me the most is not the third set, it’s the fifth set. I had a lot of chances in the fifth set and didn’t use them.

‘I’m 23 years old. I don’t think it’s my last chance. I do believe that I will be a Grand Slam champion at some point.’

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