”It has been an outstanding year,” Dominic Thiem looks back on a ‘tough’ but ‘special’ year

”It has been an outstanding year,” Dominic Thiem looks back on a ‘tough’ but ‘special’ year
Dominic Thiem

World No.3, Dominic Thiem did not have enough within him to avoid suffering a second consecutive defeat in the ATP finals title match, having lost to Daniil Medvedev in a very engaging battle at the O2 Arena in London.

Despite his hurtful defeat, Thiem applauded the Russian’s run to the finals and eventually winning the title, in the post-match conference.

“Probably if you look at the whole tournament, he was the best player. He didn’t lose a set in the group stage. Beat No. 2 and No. 3 players in the world in the semis and in the final, so he definitely deserved that title,” said Thiem.

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Talking about Medvedev, the Russian has remained unbeaten throughout the London tour, has won 10 matches on the trot and became the first man to beat all the top three players in the world at the season finale. Before winning his debut ATP Finals season on Sunday, Medvedev even clinched the Rolex Paris Masters earlier this month.

‘I want to climb up the rankings’ : Dominic Thiem ahead of the 2021 campaign

Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev went on to become the first players after Roger Federer in 2010, to defeat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same edition of the ATP Finals season.

Reflecting on what was perhaps Thiem’s most successful year despite the reduced season, the Austrian started off as a runner-up at the Australian Open finals after losing to eight-time champion, Novak Djokovic in five sets.

However, this year will always hold a special place in Thiem’s heart because he finally became a Grand Slam champion at the US Open.

“If I speak about the tennis, if I speak about my job, I mean, it has been an outstanding year. I have reached one of my big lifetime goals with winning that Grand Slam. So even though it’s a tough year, it will always have a special place in my heart this year, 100%,” remarked Thiem.

The US Open title clash against Alexander Zverev is what got the Austrian up on the ATP charts, at the No.3 spot. The match was a thriller wherein Thiem fought back valiantly from a 2 set deficit initially.

The World No.3 is now aiming to get closer to the top as he holds a positive head to heads with the world’s top two contenders since January 2019.

“It was still a very intense year, since the Tour returned [it] was super intense, so I haven’t set myself any goals yet for next year. But of course I want to climb up the Rankings,” concluded Thiem.

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