In their last US Open-themed video, Ubaldo Scanagatta and Steve Flink comment on the four-hour-long men’s final between the Austrian and the German, with the former clinching his maiden Slam title.
American journalist and Hall-of-Famer Steve Flink joined the CEO of UbiTennis to talk about the Flushing Meadows final, a thrilling if not very qualitative bout between Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev, with the world N.3 emerging victorious at the end of a fifth set tie-breaker that capped off a comeback from two sets down. What were the reasons behind the two players’ evident tightness? What to expect from the French Open, which will start in a fortnight and will feature both Djokovic and Nadal? Find out in the video:
VIDEO SCHEDULE
00:00 – “It was a strange final, they didn’t play up to their standards, both were incredibly tense. As a whole, the level was lower than that of Slam finals involving the Big Three.
02:00 – “Zverev’s downfall was to lose one of the breaks of serve he had gotten in the second set. Had he won with a score of 6-1 or 6-2, Thiem’s mindset going into the third would not have been as hopeful…”
03:10 – A thrilling decider, but was it a good one as well? “Once they got to the tie-breaker, they didn’t have much left…”
06:10 – Flink: “What I’d like to highlight is their courage. I feel sorry for Zverev, he squandered several opportunities.” Will he shake off this defeat quickly?
08:55 – Some past players came back stronger after failing to win a Slam, such as Murray and Lendl – will Zverev get another shot?
10:30 – “If Thiem had lost this match, it would have been devastating for him, because one thing is to lose as the underdog, another to do so as the favourite…”
12:50 – “Zverev lived and died by his serve, he had 15 double faults and lost speed as he went.”
16:00 – The Big Three were never crushed by the pressure, even in their early Major finals – why did Thiem and Zverev, two of the best players born in the Nineties, seem so nervous?
19:00 – “We haven’t seen Nadal yet since the season resumed…” If he is not at the top of his game, could Thiem win the French Open too? What about Djokovic?
25:30 – The French Open will have some fans in the house, as well as the press – the right call, especially in the wake of the huge surge in cases that France is experiencing?
31:15 – How do Ubaldo and Steve rate the performance of the USTA throughout the last three weeks? Will the French federation be able to avoid a Covid-19 outbreak as well?
Transcript by Giuseppe Di Paola; translated and edited by Tommaso Villa
