Dominic Thiem: "I want to use the tailwind for the French Open"
After his triumph at the US Open, Dominic Thiem also wants to fully attack the French Open in Paris. The newfound looseness should help him.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Sep 16, 2020, 11:38 pm
Dominic Thiem was just able to fulfill his lifelong dream by triumphing at the US Open, the next big highlight is already waiting for the Austrian: On September 27th, the French Open, the Grand Slam tournament at which Thiem is originally most likely to be fulfilled expected to win.
Physically, Thiem should, as he has repeatedly emphasized in the past few days, lack nothing in Paris. The big question will be how the world number three will deal mentally with the completely new situation for him. "I can't know how emotionally it is, because that's been the big goal for a number of years," said the Lower Austrian at a press conference in Vienna .
Thiem gets on sand at the weekend
"It will certainly take a while until I realize that. It will only sink when I have rested well," said Thiem, who will start tennis training again at the weekend and fly to the French capital next Wednesday. According to the newly crowned Grand Slam winner, the switch from hard court to sand should be achieved in 30 minutes.
"I grew up on the surface. The biggest task will be to process the whole thing in order to fly fresh to Paris," said the 27-year-old. Thiem did not want to announce a goal for the third Grand Slam tournament of the year - but one thing is certain: The Austrian will also be one of the absolute top favorites for the title in Roland Garros.
I expect myself to be able to approach the big tournaments and the big matches with more ease in the future.
Dominic Thiem
In the past two years, Thiem had reached the final and lost twice to Rafael Nadal. The Lichtenwörther sees the Spaniard as the favorite again this year: "Djokovic and Nadal will be in top shape at the start in Paris. If that is the case, they are always the big favorites. Nadal also has the advantage of being on clay in Europe has trained. "
Thiem from now on with less pressure
But after the triumph at the US Open, Thiem was able to see a big advantage for himself: "I expect from myself that I can approach the big tournaments and the big matches with more ease in the future and then play even better." Because the pressure of not having won a really big title is now gone.
"I would like to use the tailwind for the French Open", Thiem emphasized. The Austrian will therefore only take time for celebrations after the event in Paris - and the 27-year-old and his friends may then be able to toast two Grand Slam triumphs.