“Harming focus,” Dominic Thiem blames smartphones for players’ inability to challenge Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic
Dominic Thiem thinks many players failed to win Grand Slams during the Big 3 era because of distractions from smartphones.
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Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer (Images via X, Britannica, BBC)
Dominic Thiem thinks that there’s a possibility of mobile phones being one of the main culprits behind many players’ inability to win Grand Slam titles. Thiem has called time on his career after losing the battle against a wrist injury he suffered after the 2020 US Open.
The Austrian was one of the only few players who challenged the Big 3 (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal). Thiem even leads the head-to-head record against the Swiss maestro 5-2.
When the Big 3 had already established themselves, players like Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas emerged on the scene but Grand Slam titles still eluded them. Thiem thinks it’s not a ‘coincidence’ that there were many ‘unbelievable athletes’ born in the 1980s, implying that they did not get distracted due to smartphones, while the players during the Big 3 era did.
In those six years, you had Roger, (Lionel) Messi, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, (Lewis) Hamilton, Novak, Andy (Murray), Rafa, LeBron James. Then, a little bit older, there were Tom Brady and Michael Jordan. So it just cannot be a coincidence, and maybe we were like the generation, the first one with the smartphone, which is definitely harming concentration, harming focus.
Dominic Thiem said on A New Way of Being podcast
Thiem’s last match of his career was at the Vienna Open. In the first round, he fell to Luciano Darderi in straight sets.
Dominic Thiem thinks Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are immune to smartphone distraction
Both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were born in the 2000s, and Dominic Thiem thinks the reason why they are able to reach heights at a young age is probably because they are immune to smartphone distractions. Alcaraz and Sinner have won six Grand Slam titles, with the former leading the next generation with four majors.
Maybe there is a connection between that and maybe now, if we see people like Carlos and Jannik, who are about to win so many Grand Slams, maybe this generation got used to it already a little bit, and it’s easier for them to still focus for five hours with the smartphone.
Dominic Thiem said on A New Way of Being podcast
This season, these two youngsters shared the four majors between them. Sinner won the Australian Open and the US Open, while Alcaraz added the French Open and Wimbledon to his trophy cabinet. Alcaraz is currently participating in the Paris Masters, but Sinner withdrew from the event as he is suffering from a viral illness.
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Gouri Das
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