Barbara Schett defends Dominic Thiem's greatness

10/19/2024 12:00 PM

Nobody could have imagined that Dominic Thiem’s career would end in this way. The Austrian player has been one of the most valid alternatives to the Big 3 and has managed to defeat the sacred monsters of the modern era several times. Many players have not been able to win as they should have because of the presence of three legends such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who are in the best period of their respective careers.

Dominic really gave his all to live up to these legends and took away many satisfactions during his career, which reached its peak in 2020. After years of chasing the French Open triumph, always beaten by 14-time champion Rafa Nadal, Thiem won his first and only Grand Slam title at the US Open four years ago.

In an edition that went down in history with the shocking disqualification of Djokovic - which hit a line judge with an involuntary ball - Dominic was very good at managing the pressure and to dominate his nerves, defeating Alexander Zverev in a final full of tension. After reaching the peak of his career, Thiem has been plunged into a downward spiral which has been the prelude to his inexorable decline. Depression - followed by a severe wrist injury - prevented him from returning to his normal levels and accelerated the end of his career.

Fans and insiders are very sorry for the progress of the second part of Thiem’s career, which would certainly have deserved more luck. In a long interview with Eurosport, top analyst Barbara Schett analyzed the Austrian’s career in detail highlighting his many achievements: “Dominic has an exceptional number of wins against the Big Three (NDRL: 16 exactly). He has a positive record against Roger Federer, six wins against Rafael Nadal, five against Novak Djokovic: only he has won as many successes against these legends of our sport. It also means something.”

Thiem, in an exclusive interview with ‘Tennis Majors’, opened up and told several anecdotes about his career that is coming to an end. The Austrian tennis player is ready to receive all the affection of the home public in the last tournament that will play in his country of origin in Vienna (an ATP 500). The luck has also wanted it was Italian ace Luciano Darderi to challenge the winner of the 2020 US Open.

The 31-year-old focused on the match that gave him a Grand Slam title: "Winning at least one Major tournament was a huge relief. A feeling of freedom. I had missed three endings before and experienced how difficult it was to get there. And you never know if it’s your last chance or not. For the first time it wasn’t against Novak or Rafa. Sascha Zverev was a tough opponent but there was a lot of pressure from outside, people said I was the favorite in this final, but I didn’t see it that way. It was a really close match (finished 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6) and maybe I had some luck. I won that tie-break in the fifth set and the first thought was just a great relief".

The champion from Wiener Neustadt then revealed what happened in the days, weeks and months following his career’s most important triumph: "I think at the time I took it too seriously. I thought that a Slam would make me happy and change my life forever. But, of course, it didn’t. It’s an illusion. Basically nothing has changed. I suddenly realized that it wouldn’t make me happy forever. After about three or four months, things were back to normal and it wasn’t as I expected. It was a very interesting situation, also a challenging experience to face".

How would you like to be remembered by people who have seen you play? Thiem answered this question as follows: "I would like to be remembered, first of all, as a fair and kind player, but also as a nice looking tennis player. The most important thing for me is that I hope to have brought many children and young people closer to sport. It is such a great and important part of the world, especially in difficult days like this".

The 2020 US Open champion tried his best to get back competitive, but it was clear that his body wasn’t responding as well as before. It was clear that Dominic would not be the same player he was a few years ago and there was no point in putting his already worn out body under further stress.