In this week’s Emirates ATP Rankings, Dominic Thiem finds himself leading the future generation of men’s tennis.
At a career-best rank of seventh in the world, the Austrian in the highest ranked player under the age of 27. He is also the highest ranked player yet to win a grand slam, which has been largely dominated by the ‘Big Four’ contingent over the past decade. Thiem has been tipped as a future star by many. At the age of 23, he is already a two-time French Open semifinalist with eight ATP titles to his name.
Alongside with other players such as world No.8 Alexander Zverev, it is hoped that the developing generation will fill the void once the era of the big four comes to an end. Although Thiem admits that he has a long way to go.
“We still have to win a lot of matches to deserve to be called the next big things in tennis,” Thiem said on Monday. “It’s nice to hear that but I think it’s still a pretty long ways for both of us.”
This season the 23-year-old has already defeated three members of the big four. Roger Federer is the only exception. Recently Novak Djokovic pulled a curtain on his season due to injury problems. However small, cracks are starting to show at the top of the game for the younger players to shine through. Illustrated by Zverev’s run to his first Masters 1000 title in Rome.
“I think it’s getting better for the younger players since the past one or two years. There were some tournaments where we had a breakthrough against them — but to win a grand slam or a Masters 1000, you have to usually beat two big-four guys in a row, which is a very tough thing to achieve, and that’s why so little of other players have won the big titles.” Thiem said about the rivalry with the quartet.
The North American plan
Dedication has never been a problem for Thiem, who has already played 53 tour matches this season. Finding consistency is his achilles heel. After a strong performance on the European clay, he suffered two early exits on the grass-courts in Germany and Turkey. Then at Wimbledon he restored some pride in his grass campaign by reaching the fourth round.
Unlike previous years, Thiem has chosen to skip his home tournament in Kitzbuhel to play in Washington this week. Seeded first at the Citi Open, his objective is to lay down the foundations for a successful north American tour. Thiem is yet to contest an ATP final in the continent.
“The main priority is to find the good game, and it’s the start here of a very long trip. And I’m doing it for the first time, to come here to Washington, because I want to play a good hard-court swing. Previous years I was always coming from Europe, from clay, and it didn’t work out that well. I hope it works out well from the first week on.” Explained Thiem.
Thiem will start his campaign in Washington against Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland. He headlines a field featuring eight top 20 players, of which four are ranked inside the top 10. It will be a tough tournament for the top seed, who is maintaining an upbeat mentality.
“For us players, it’s not that great because we have tough matches ahead, but for the crowd it’s amazing. They are lucky they have such a strong field. But for the players it’s not that nice. They are all really tough matches.” He joked.
Thiem’s wins over the big four in 2017
Barcelona Open – defeated Andy Murray 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 (semi-finals)
Italian Open – defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-3 (quarter-finals)
French Open – defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0, (quarter-finals)
