Locked in an even-as-can-be Australian Open semifinal, Dominic Thiem looked up at his guest box, patted his belly and stuck out his tongue, as if to indicate he was feeling sick. He shook his head. He winced.
Whatever might have been going on, Thiem turned out to be just fine — well enough to play, well enough to win.
The 26-year-old Austrian reached his third Grand Slam final overall and first at Melbourne Park by using his baseline bullying and big-moment bravado to defeat Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) on Friday night.
"I was feeling nerves, I think. I was putting so much energy, so much effort in, so my stomach was not ready for that. I think it was rebelling a little bit," Thiem said, laughing about what happened. "But all good. I sometimes have it when I have tough matches."
The key to Thiem's triumph over No 7 Zverev was the same as the key to his previous victory, over No 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals: coming through in the clutch. Thiem went a combined five for five in tiebreakers in those matches.
"I was going for it. Could have also missed them," he said about some of his shots Friday. "I was brave, but also lucky that I made these."
The No 5-seeded Thiem's opponent in the title match Sunday will be No 2 Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, who eliminated Roger Federer on Thursday.
Djokovic, 32, will be appearing in his record eighth Australian Open final and 26th Grand Slam final overall. While Thiem eyes his first major trophy, Djokovic is going for No 17, which would move him within three of Federer's record of 20. Nadal, with 19, is the only other man ahead of Djokovic.
Thiem's two previous major finals came on the red clay of the French Open, where he was the runner-up to 12-time champion Nadal each of the last two years.
