Why Thiem Isn't Thinking About Avoiding The Big Three
Two-time Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem landed on the opposite half of the draw as the Big Three of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. But the Austrian star is not paying much attention to that.
“Maybe two, three years ago I would have been happy if that would be the case, but I think the way I’m coming into that tournament, the way I also played the past weeks, the only thing I can focus on is the first round,” Thiem said. “I shouldn’t focus at all on who is in my quarter or even who is in my half.
“Of course, I know that Big Three are all in the [top] half and Roger and Novak are even in one quarter. But for myself, it doesn’t matter so much. I just basically focus now on the first round.”
Thiem has proven himself a clay-court stalwart throughout his career, lifting 10 ATP Tour trophies on the surface. But the World No. 4 has not been at his very best leading into the season’s second Grand Slam, going 4-3 on the red dirt this year. The Austrian aims to build up his form as the tournament goes on.
“That’s my hope. First of all, to work myself into that tournament, I definitely need to play better than I did last week in Lyon [where I lost in my opening match]. If I do that, I’m practising and working hard to give myself a chance to play well at least. I hope I can do that in the match as well,” Thiem said. “That’s also what’s necessary. It’s definitely a little advantage for me as I’m sometimes a little slow starter that I have at least three sets instead of two.”
The 27-year-old is still working to find his game after taking nearly two months off following an opening loss in Dubai in March to reset mentally and physically.
“You need time to recover a physical injury or issue; the same sometimes, if you are mentally not in your best shape, you also need time to recover for that,” Thiem said. “That’s why I think it’s pretty normal from time to time to take some time off and to feel fresher after, and that’s exactly what I did now before I came back in Madrid.”
Although Thiem cannot play a member of the Big Three until the championship match in Paris, he reflected on the challenges of facing them before playing Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the first round.
“I think that all of them are super tough to play, and all of them have their favourite surface, as well. But in my opinion, to play Rafa here on [Court Philippe] Chatrier, it’s still the toughest challenge,” Thiem said. “But I guess also outside of tennis, it’s probably one of the most difficult things ever in sports in general to beat him here on this court.”