Dominic Thiem - "We are idols for many children"
Dominic Thiem intervenes in the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Doha on Wednesday. The Austrian will meet the Russian Aslan Karatsev in first place. Regardless of this, Thiem could be given a great honor: a Laureus Award.
by red / PM
last edit: Mar 08, 2021, 11:40 pm
Dominic Thiem spent Monday evening in his hotel room in Doha in multitask mode: while he was watching Dennis Novak's appearance in Marseille on his tablet (not a happy ending), the match between Chelsea and FC was on the TV screen Everton (good ending - if you're a fan of London like Thiem). Chelsea was also a topic in an interview Austria's best tennis player did with Laureus.com. On the occasion of his nomination for a laureate for "Breakthrough of the Year".
Here are some questions and answers:
- About his win at the US Open, where he came back from a two-set deficit to win the final:
"It was incredible pressure because I wanted this big title so badly. I didn't play that well and I didn't feel that good, so it was amazing for me to see how I turned things around."
- About the upcoming French Open:
"Winning is such a big deal, it's a career goal, it's also my biggest goal for this year. I know everything has to work 100% or it won't happen. If someone wants to win, including me, it has to." he probably knock out Nadal. What he did in that tournament is probably one of the greatest accomplishments in sporting history, and I think he's not finished. I think he was 34 last year and probably has one of the best tournaments ever played so he's definitely the guy to beat, beating this man on center court [at Roland Garros] would be one of the biggest challenges in the sport, so I'd really love to do it while he's still active "
First Chelsea jersey by Thiem with Lampard's name and number
- Thiem is a firm believer that athletes should use their position of influence to achieve change, especially with regard to the environment. He says:
“We are idols to a lot of children and when we do the right things I think a lot of people want to follow suit. That is definitely something we have to do. That is a task that we have and that we must use. One of the biggest problems we have right now is plastic in the ocean. I think that's a real problem. "
- About his nomination, he said:
“Yes, that is very nice and of course that is a great appreciation. The US Open was the first major tennis event since the restart, a pretty unique tournament in all areas and I think it's definitely one that no one will ever forget, so I think that's also one of the reasons I got this nomination have."
- As a supporter of the English Premier League team Chelsea ("I watch almost every game on TV"), he also has an opinion on Frank Lampard's expulsion:
- "The first shirt I got from Chelsea had his name on the back and he was always my favorite player. I was so happy when he became manager. I was super sad when he left, but it was probably the right one Decision and he's still so young, I hope he can develop as a coach and then maybe he can come back. "