Thiem and Zverev signal Generation Now for Austrian and German tennis

The 2020 US Open final gave us everything we expected and could handle in a year where the unpredictable has become the “new normal.”

Heading into the match, tennis fans around the world would finally get the answer to the often-posed question: “Who will be the first member of the ‘Next Gen’ movement to break through and win a major?”

The options were enticing. One side featured 23-year-old Alexander Zverev, the sometimes-shirtless heartthrob from Hamburg who seemed destined for the moment, hailing from a famous tennis family who prepped him for this stage since birth.

Zverev was looking to be the first German since Boris Becker (31 years ago) to win the US Open. It is conceivable that German stars Zverev, Angelique Kerber, Laura Siegemund (the 2020 US Open doubles champion) and others would not even dare to dream big with racquet in hand if not for the exploits of the man nicknamed Boom Boom, who burst onto the scene in 1985, winning Wimbledon at age 17 and inspiring a tennis outbreak throughout the GAS (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region.

Speaking of which, enter Option B, Dominic Thiem—a 27 year old Austrian phenom and three-time runner-up in slams, who was poised to win his maiden major title if the tennis gods would align.

Four hours and two minutes of intense athletic labor and muscle cramping later, tennis would have its answer: Thiem would reign supreme as DER CHAMPION!

On this night however, tennis fans were the big winner, as both Thiem and Zverev proved that the ‘next generation’ is the ‘now generation’—unless of course Rafa, Roger and Novak decide to tilt the tennis world back on its normal axis.

Celebrate Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev all week on Tennis Channel International with their best matches, original shows and unique access.

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