TASS, January 31. Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem has overcome slow start against Germany’s Alexander Zverev in their semifinal match to grab the remaining final spot at the Australian Open — first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis calendar.

The fifth-seeded Austrian, 26, powered through to his first Australian Open final in 3 hours and 42 minutes, defeating the seventh-seeded German 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4) for the seventh time in his career, while Zverev has two victories over Thiem under his belt.

Thiem has set up a blockbuster clash against the defending champion, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (seed No. 2). The Serbian leads their head-to-head 6-4. Djokovic secured his place in the final on Thursday by defeating Swiss Roger Federer in the semifinals, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 6-3.

Thiem is ranked 5th in the ATP rankings and has won 16 titles. By storming into the Australian Open final, he has equaled his best career Grand Slam performance to date of reaching French Open final twice (2018, 2019). The Austrian has never reached the final of the Australian Open, his previous best result at the tournament was the fourth round.

The Australian Open offers a prize pot of $49.1 million and is taking place in Melbourne from January 20 to February 2.