Dominic Thiem wins first US Open match since 2020 final, snapping seven-match losing streak at Slams

NEW YORK—Alexander Bublik plays fast, but this quick even for him.

Never one to hold back on his serve—first or second—the US Open's 25th seed had just taken the balls after falling behind Dominic Thiem by two sets (and smashing his Tecnifibre two times onto the unforgiving Grandstand court). He proceeded to hit four double faults.

Now, Bublik wasn't broken at love in that game. But that being the highest compliment I can offer, you know it wasn't a good day for the mercurial Kazakh, who was lit up for his dismal performance on the ESPN broadcast.

On the contrary, it was a highly successful and surely relieving day for Thiem. Since winning this tournament in 2020, the injury-plagued Austrian had yet to win a single match at Flushing Meadows. In fact, he had lost his last seven matches at the majors, his only such wins since lifting his lone Grand Slam title coming at the subsequent Australian Open, where he lost in the fourth round.

"Today's pretty special," Thiem said, acknowledging his drought at the majors. "That's a very long time."

Thiem, who will turn 30 in a few days, was certainly the beneficiary of Bublik's charity—a staggering 44 unforced errors over this one-hour-and-52-minute, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 match. But the veteran was solid enough, which hasn't been a certainly ever since his ascendancy was derailed by injury.

Not automatic as he once was, Thiem played a poor service game at 5-2 and was unable to serve out the match. But he settled down with a comfortable hold two games later, punctuated by a short crosscourt forehand winner and a fist pump to the fans, to advance.

With a packed crowd cheering him on, the fan favorite hopes his second act can begin where his first one peaked.

"My first major injury, on my wrist, which is very important for my game," said the former No. 3, who dropped all the way to No. 352 in the rankings, said in a reflective post-match interview. "Took time to get confidence back. Now I'm back on track, and it means a lot to me that the first victory was back here."

The first—and, for the 81st-ranked Thiem, hopefully not the last during this visit to New York City.

"Unfortunately, the Grand Slam victory came without the crowd," Thiem said, noting the pandemic US Open three years ago. "Hope that I can make another good run, with the energy from the crowd."