Tennis star Dominic Thiem won his first-ever Grand Slam title on Sunday, after a thrilling five-set victory over Alexander Zverev that capped off a 2020 U.S. Open tournament like no other.
"It feels great," Thiem told Cheddar from Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday. "What happened last night was a match that had everything [including] huge, huge drama at the end. I think it was a super great finals."
After losing the first two sets to 23-year-old German phenom Zverev, Thiem battled back to win the next two sets and, ultimately, close out the fifth set in a tiebreaker.
Adjusting to playing in a pandemic, Thiem admitted that taking the court without fans in the stands was a "little bit sad."
"Fans just give amazing energy to us," he continued. "It's one of the nicest things an athlete can experience…to enjoy an atmosphere of 23,000 people in this nice Arthur Ashe Stadium, but it is what it is."
This victory is the first Grand Slam title won by any men's player that isn't named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic since 2016, ending a dominant streak of 13 straight tournaments.
While Federer and Nadal chose to skip the tournament over coronavirus concerns, Djokovic was ejected from the U.S. Open when he inadvertently struck a lineswoman after hitting a ball in frustration towards the fence. He later profusely apologized for the incident.
"I think it's very good for men's tennis if there are fresh faces in the winning list of majors," Thiem said. "Younger players like us, I think we really have the potential to continue the story of what Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic started."
As for the celebration, the 27-year-old Austrian says he plans to fly back to Vienna to have a "big party" with family and friends, before looking ahead to the French Open set to begin on September 21.
"The French Open is one of my favorite tournaments," Thiem said, knowing the big three will be there to greet him. "Already now, I'm super pumped to play there."
Emmanuel Acho joined Cheddar News to talk about his new book "Illogical: Saying Yes to a Life Without Limits." The former NFL player, current broadcaster, and host is on a mission to help people see beyond the goals that they have set for themselves. “People say 'what is being illogical?'" he said. "To me, it's believing it is so even when it's not so — so that it can be so."
Adidas is now the first major sports brand to create a program for paying college athletes. The new "name, image and likeness" network will allow more than 50,000 students across NCAA Division 1 schools to become paid spokespeople for the brand. Thilo Kunkel, Associate Professor and Director of Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University, tells us why this new program is only the beginning of an exciting time for student athletes.
Sports betting has boomed over the past year; but at the same time, sports betting stocks have not been so hot. Now, some sports betting brands are starting to rethink how to spend their money, especially when it comes to ads. It will come after online sports betting brands spent more than $320 million on advertising in 2021, up 38% from 2020, per MediaRadar. Brendan Coffey, sports finance reporter for Sportico, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Rowing-machine maker, Hydrow, raised $55 million in Series D funding round, led by Constitution Capital. Hyrdow offers a connected rowing machine that costs $2,495. The company's funding round comes as the at-home fitness industry is facing some challenges, due to many consumers returning to gyms after working out at home during the pandemic. Bruce Smith, founder & CEO of Hydrow, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
WNBA star Sue Bird is back with the Seattle Storm after announcing her retirement last year and spoke to Cheddar about taking a pay cut to help her team win, issues around gender equity in sports, and partnering with beer brand Corona on sweepstakes that will allow fans to win a limited edition Corona fridge with space to display sneakers. "I love whenever you can partner with a company that you A) enjoy," she said. "It's not that ridiculous to see me with a Corona in my hand. You're not supposed to say that as an athlete, but it's true."
Turkish media reports say a second superyacht belonging to Chelsea soccer club owner and sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has docked in a resort in southwestern Turkey.
Ben Strauss, sports and media reporter at the Washington Post, joins Cheddar News to recap round two of the NCAA Men's Tournament and what we can expect heading into the Sweet 16.
March Madness kicked off this month as more and more states are legalizing sports betting — and some major upsets almost immediately busting many a bracket. Jay Croucher, the director of trading at the sportsbook PointsBet, joined Cheddar News to talk about the tournament and the current top picks. "There's not too much difference in terms of the busiest days of the year between the Super Bowl and the first day of March Madness," he said.
The NCAA tournament kicks off this week, so it's about that time to finalize your march madness brackets if you haven't already, and decide where to call the upsets. Iain MacMillan, senior editor at MacMillan, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
March Nadness is officially underway, and betting on this year's tournament has the potential to reach record levels. About 45 million Americans are expected to wager a total of $3.1 billion on just the men's tournament alone, according to a new survey from the American Gaming Association. Prince Grimes, Senior Writer for USA Today's sports betting media property, BetFTW, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss how betting could play into this year's tournament and other storylines surrounding March Madness.
