Thiem: “It is impossible to be the heir to the throne of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic”

Austrian tennis player Dominic Thiem sees “impossible” to be “the heir to the throne of the best tennis players of all time” but warns that, when he is back with his “best version”, he will be able to beat all three, he assured Efe when asked if he feels the successor of Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Thiem, 27 years old and current number 6 in the ATP ranking, discussed issues related to his near future, the evolution of his wrist injury or whether he is able to pick up the baton from the Spanish, the Swiss and the Serbian – absolute dominators of the circuit in recent years – in an interview with the Efe Agency on the occasion of the launch of the Adidas Barricade shoes, in whose design he has participated considering it an “iconic” model of the German brand.

– How are you handling the wrist injury?

– It's getting better every day. I already started doing completely normal fitness workouts and training on the track, although still with my left hand. It depends on the results I have in the tests, which will be in the next few days, but I hope to be playing with my right hand soon and take another step. In general I am going in the right direction.

– When will he be back on track?

– I hope I can be at the US Open. I'm not sure yet but it's the goal I have in mind. There would be no better tournament than the US Open to come back.

– Is the US Open precisely your main objective this season after a difficult year?

– It is the main objective after returning from injury, but since I have not started playing and it has been a long time since I played my last game, even if I can play without pain and without risk in the tournament, it will be very difficult. I've missed a lot of training sessions and matches so I don't expect to get very far, but who knows. It's always nice and special to play a Grand Slam, especially one that I already won last year, so it will be a very important moment this season.

– Do you feel pressure heading into the US Open as the defending champion?

– In a normal year, in which I would not have been injured and I would have competed well, yes. I would have felt pressure, although obviously I would have done everything possible to defend the title. Unfortunately, everything is different now. I've missed a lot of training sessions and a lot of games, so if I can play the US Open – which I really hope to do – there is almost no pressure. The first victory will be to be able to play there.

– What difference is there for you between playing with an audience or in an empty stadium?

– There is a big difference. It has been very difficult to play without fans. This past year and a half showed how important fans of this sport are to us players. How important and how beautiful it is to play in a full stadium. I expect New York to have almost 100% capacity.

– Have you ever considered yourself as the heir to the throne of Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic?

– It's a tough question. This year has been difficult but I hope that soon, around the beginning of 2022, my best version will be back. When I am back with my best version I will be able to beat all of them and win whatever tournament I play. I am not alone, there are many young talents who can do the same and I think it is impossible to be the heir to the throne of the best tennis players of all time. They all have 20 Grand Slam and, to be honest, I don't think any of the new generation players will do it, but we will try to achieve as many as possible. I look forward to starting the next 2022 campaign strong.

Dominic Thiem wants to get back on the slopes as soon as possible. The Austrian, with the permission of his right wrist, will try to defend in New York the US Open title that he won about a year ago, but he does not have too many expectations due to the lack of filming. The competition will start on August 30 and end on September 12.