Former Austrian pro believes Dominic Thiem playing his best tennis on ‘important points’, makes him more worthy of respect

Former Austrian pro believes Dominic Thiem playing his best tennis on ‘important points’, makes him more worthy of respect
Dominic Thiem

World No.3, Dominic Thiem is the only active player under the age of 32 to have a Grand Slam to his name, where as fellow competitors, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev are yet to break the barrier before them.

The Austrian went past Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in this year’s ATP Finals. However, he lost the title match against Daniil Medvedev, who shared a familiar journey.

Thiem holds a positive head to head with Rafa and Novak since January 2019 and former Austrian tennis professional, Alexander Antonitsch believes that Thiem has made himself more worthy of respect by displaying his best shots at the most crucial situations.

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“Everyone has respect for him, so that they sometimes make mistakes because they don’t want to get hurt. They know that he plays his best tennis on important points,” Antonitsch said.

Dominic Thiem is one step ahead of the others: Alexander Antonitsch

Dominic Thiem

This year, Dominic Thiem managed to reach the finals of the Australian Open and the ATP London season-ending event. However, he fell short of victory on both occasions. The Austrian came through as a Grand Slam champion for the first time at the US Open this year and as a whole, has had a year that one cannot ignore acknowledging.

Thiem has shown that he has got the potential to become the greatest as he is shown how good he is when put in high pressure situations.

Everyone respects him for his stunning ability to come out strongly when the odds are against him, making him a step ahead in chasing the ‘The Big 3’.

Thiem emerges as the only potential threat to the most popular names in tennis, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as his best is yet to come.

“Dominic Thiem is one step ahead of the others,” Antonitsch said. “He is also a few years older and has already celebrated a Grand Slam title. There is a difference whether I’m in an ATP final or winning a Grand Slam, where the best-of-five is played,” he concluded.

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