Dominic Thiem aims to dethrone Rafael Nadal at French Open

Dominic Thiem aims to dethrone Rafael Nadal at French Open

Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal

Dominic Thiem, Rafael Nadal

Dominic Thiem had a successful 2020 season, which saw him lift his maiden Grandslam title at the US Open. The Austrian lifted his first slam after three consecutive defeats in the finals of a major. Two of those defeats have come against Rafael Nadal at the French Open, and one against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.

Thiem is undoubtedly one of the most consistent clay court players at the moment. He reached two consecutive French Open finals in 2018 and 2019, but was defeated by the ‘King of Clay’, Rafael Nadal. The Austrian stated that winning the French Open was his biggest goal, although he accepted that defeating Rafael Nadal in Paris will be a huge challenge.

“For me it’s by far the tournament (French Open) with the best results in the past … so after I won that first Grand Slam title, it’s now the biggest goal and something I really want to achieve,” Thiem told the Laureus Sports Awards.

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“I like to set more short term goals, but to win the French Open is such a huge thing … it’s actually a career goal. It’s my biggest goal as well for this year,” the Austrian added.

One of the biggest challenges in sport is to beat Nadal at the French Open: Thiem

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Dominic Thiem listed out the biggest goal of his season as winning the French Open. However, he will have to defeat Rafael Nadal to get to the title, which Thiem believes is one of the toughest things in the sport. Rafael Nadal reigned supreme in Paris once again as he claimed his 13th French Open title last year, defeating Djokovic in straight sets in the final.

“I think last year he was 34 already and he played probably one of the best tournaments ever, so he’s definitely the guy to beat,” said the 27-year-old. “It would be one of the biggest challenges in sport to beat this guy on the centre court so that’s why I really would love to do it when he’s still active,” he added.

Dominic Thiem made a shock fourth exit from the Australian Open 2021 and will return to court in Doha this week. The Austrian is the top seed at the Qatar Open 2021 and will face the Australian Open semifinalist, Aslan Karatsev in the second round.

Also Read: ATP Qatar Open 2021: Dominic Thiem vs Aslan Karatsev Preview, Head-to-Head and Match Prediction