Dominic Thiem says he doesn’t want to wait for Rafael Nadal to retire before he has a shot of clinching the French Open title.
The world No.3 says triumphing at Roland Garros is a ‘career goal’ as he seeks to build on his previous run of good results at the tournament later this year. Thiem is already a two-time finalist at Roland Garros after losing to Nadal in the title match in 2018 and 2019. Overall he has won 28 out of 35 main draw matches played at the tournament which is more than any other Grand Slam for him. Last year he lost in the quarter-finals of Diego Schwartzman.
“For me it’s by far the tournament 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,” the 2020 US Open champion told the Laureus Sports Awards.
“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,” he added.
Although the task of winning in Paris is a tough one given Nadal’s dominance over recent years. The Spaniard has won the title a record 13 times and only twice has he ever been defeated. Losing to Robin Söderling in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2015. He also didn’t win the title in 2016 after withdrawing midway through the draw due to injury.
Theim knows what it takes to defeat Nadal after scoring a total of six wins over the Spaniard on the Tour, including two last year. Although when it comes to playing at the French Open he admits that it is a different mission all together.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
The 27-year-old is only the second man in history to collect at least five wins over every member of the Big Three – Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. The first was Andy Murray.
Besides his goals on the court, Thiem also says he wants to set an example for young fans to follow.
“We are idols for many, many kids and if we do the right things I think many, many people want to follow that and that’s definitely something we have to do,” he said. “That’s one purpose we have and we have to use that.”
Thiem has been nominated for Breakthrough of the Year at the prestigious Laureus Sports Awards. WTA player Iga Swiatek has also been nominated for the same award. Winners are determined by members of the Members of the Laureus World Sports Academy.
