There is something in the air in New York around the time of the US Open that can lead to opportunity. While the dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic was often apparent during the first three grand slam tournaments of a season, in later years the fourth and final one was where a window could sometimes open up. Marin Cilic’s victory over Kei Nishikori in the 2017 US Open final is a prominent example of a rare breakthrough in the era of the “Big Three”, as was Dominic Thiem’s win over Alexander Zverev in 2020.
Thiem’s win over Zverev, at an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium during the pandemic, made him the first male player born in the 1990s to win a grand slam title. A year later, Daniil Medvedev became the second player from that decade to capture a major, when Djokovic finally ran out of road in his bid to win all four in the same season. That, too, was evidence of the US Open sometimes acting a little differently, where the buzz of New York blends into the weary end of a long summer and throws up something unexpected.
