Rafael Nadal is the favorite at every tournament: Dominic Thiem

Ahead of his clash against World No.2 Rafael Nadal on Tuesday, Dominic Thiem said that he believes Rafa to be a favorite to win every tournament he plays.

“I hope that I can improve on Tuesday. Nadal is Nadal, he is the favorite at every tournament. I also think that he is fitter and better prepared than in recent years, simply because the season wasn’t that long,” said the reigning US Open Champion. Both the players have met each other on 14 occasions at the ATP tour before, with the Spaniard leading the head-to-head 9-5.

However, it was the Austrian who won the latest clash, beating Nadal at the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in four sets.

Thiem won his first clash against the defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in a tough three-setter. Nadal, on the other hand, eased to victory in his opening clash in straight sets against debutant Andrey Rublev.

According to Nadal, Thiem is one of the hardest-working players on the tour and he completely deserved his first US Open title win.

Before his title win at the US, the Austrian reached three Grand Slam finals.

“[Thiem] is a great player. He’s improving every year. He’s a hard worker. Great guy, so I’m super happy for him to watch him win his first Grand Slam and he deserves it. He’s one of the guys on the tour that really deserves the success because he’s a very hard worker,” Rafael Nadal commented.

Nadal will look to win his first ATP Finals title this year. On the other hand, Thiem will also be on the hunt for the title after losing to Tsitsipas in last year’s final.