It took the talented and promising junior Dominic Thiem a few years on the tour to show his full potential. Thiem entered the top 10 after a notable result at Roland Garros in 2016 and has remained in the exclusive group ever since to become one of the most consistent players on the tour.
After two Roland Garros semi-finals in 2016 and 2017, Dominic reached the title match in 2018 and 2019, proved his quality in the most important scene and lost both to Rafael Nadal to miss the trophies but gain experience.
The Austrian has become the most dangerous rival of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in recent years. He scored 16 victories against the world’s best players and narrowed the gap to the ATP rankings.
Dominic had a great chance of winning the first major trophy a year ago and led two sets to one against Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final before falling in five sets. Dominic made a stronger return at the US Open, taking advantage of the fact that none of his greatest rivals were on the way to the trophy to achieve great fame at the age of 27.
In the final, Thiem lost the first two sets in a very short time against Alexander Zverev and had to work hard to get back on the scoreboard in sets three and four. The decisive set made for an exciting fight, and Zverev had everything in hand to achieve the victory before losing the decisive tie-break and handing the trophy over to the Austrian.
Dominic lost an epic quarter-final to Roland Garros to Diego Schwartzman in over five hours and failed to reach the semifinals in Paris for the first time in five years.
Dominic Thiem won the first major title at the US Open 2020
Thiem had a fresh start at the ATP finals in London and played well to beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
At this event he advanced to the second final in a row and suffered a narrow defeat against Daniil Medvedev. The Austrian ended the season in the top 3 for the first time and worked hard the preseason to prepare for 2021.
Thiem would like to fight for more major trophies in the coming season and beat Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer on the way to the title. “Would the title have meant more if I could have beaten any of the big three on the way? A major win is a major win.
Otherwise one would have to say that all titles before the Big 3 are worthless. But of course I still want to win a title where I can beat one or maybe two of them, “said Dominic Thiem. Photo credit: Perfect Tennis
–
