Dominic Thiem has beaten Alexander Zverev on Friday, to secure a spot in the Australian Open final. The Austrian will face Novak Djokovic, on Sunday.

The fourth seed won the match 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(4) over German seventh seed, Zverev. The gruelling match lasted three hours and 42 minutes at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Thiem won 23 out of his 27 points at the net. He also hit 43 winners, which includes 10 aces. Zverev, on the other hand, hit 103 of his 127 first serves into court and converted five of his fourteen breakpoint chances. The German committed 33 unforced errors during the match.

This will be Thiem's third Grand Slam championship final. He fought hard against Zverev in the semi-final after losing the first set.

During an on-court interview, Thiem said, "It was an unreal match, two tie-breaks, so tough and so close. It was almost impossible to break him, with [him getting in] such a high percentage of first serves. An Australian Open final is unreal, and what a start to the season so far. Now I am facing Djokovic, he is the 'King of Australia', winning seven titles here. I will try my best and do everything I can to win."

Dominic Thiem
Dominic Thiem Photo: AFP / Glyn KIRK Glyn Kirk/AFP

Zverev has already donated AU $50,000 to Australia's bushfire relief fund. For every match he won in Melbourne, the German donated AU $10,000. He was looking to become the third German man to reach the Australian Open final. Previously, Boris Becker (1991, 1996) and Rainer Schuettler (2003) had achieved the feat. However, Thiem had different plans.

Thiem became the first Austrian to ever reach the final of the Australian Open. His aim would now be to beat seven-time champion Djokovic. If he successfully does that, Thiem will rise above Roger Federer to secure a career-high No. 3 ATP Ranking.

In previous majors, the 26-year-old had finished as runner-up against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2018 and 2019. In case Thiem beats defending champion Djokovic during Sunday's final, he will mark his name in the history books as the 150th different man to win a major championship title.

Australian Open Novak Djokovic