Dominic Thiem,many would say is the one destined for greatest glory among the NextGen.Not only has the Austrian youngster showed nerves of steel at biggest of the stagesbut also hgas gained an upperhand over the Big Three in the recent times.
And yet something seems amiss. In spite of having been a part of the tour for quite a period, Thiem only has a single grand slam to boast of along with three other finals losses. Two of those losses have come at Roland Garros in front of clay king Rafael Nadal.
Defeating Nadal at Rolland Garros is arguably the biggest challenge in modern tennis with Rafa having an impeccable 100-2 W/L record in Paris. And yet, Thiem believes that he has what it takes to dethrone Rafa at his favorite slam.
“My biggest Goal”says Thiem on French Open
Thiem made two finals in 2018 and 2019 but lost on both occasions to the irrepressible Rafael Nadal.
The Austrian reached the last-four in the two previous years but fell to Nadal again in 2017 and current World Number 1 Novak Djokovic in 2016.
He also had success at the junior event when he was aged 18 and 19.
However, keeping his disappointments aside, Thiem has set fresh sights on ending his title jinx at the Roland-Garros this year.
A statement released on Laureus.com quotes him as saying, “It’s (winning the French Open) my biggest goal and something I really want to achieve.”
Even as breaking the title hoodoo at Roland-Garros is Thiem’s top target this year, he is mindful that between him and the first French Open title stands the biggest hurdle – the ‘King of Clay’.
Also read:Roger Federer feels that it’s not yet the end of his story
“What he (Nadal) has done in that tournament is probably one of the greatest achievements in the history of the sport, and I suppose it is not over yet,” the Austrian said.
He underlined that beating the Spaniard at Roland-Garros is “one of the biggest challenges in the sport” and he would “love” to do it “while he’s still active”.
Aware of the enormity of the task at hand, Thiem said “everything has to work one hundred percent” if the current World Number 4 is to be crowned French Open champion this year.
The Qatar Open updates-
Dominic Thiem is looking forward to welcoming Roger Federer back to the ATP Tour this week at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
“We are rivals, and of course we want to beat each other in the tournament, [but] I still really love to watch him play tennis,” said Thiem, who is the top seed in Doha. “[He] looks so nice, the way he plays, the way he approaches the game of tennis.
“On the one hand, I’m also a big fan of his still, and that’s why I really love that he’s back and that I can watch him again. That’s what pretty much everybody is thinking, and I hope that he’s coming back strong, as well.”
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