Dominic Thiem reveals 'worst Grand Slam by a distance'

June 29, 2023

ATP Tennis Players, Dominic Thiem, Tennis News, Wimbledon

Dominic Thiem reveals ‘worst Grand Slam by a distance’

Dominic Thiem has commented on his ‘worst’ major tournament, as the Austrian reflected on his only Grand Slam title win to date.

Thiem became a Grand Slam champion at the US Open in 2020, after coming from two sets down to beat Alexander Zverev in a tense fifth set tie-break.

The 29-year-old has reflected on ‘the best moment of his career’, “The most important thing was the first step. So, getting into a final for the first time because then I knew I could do it and I knew how it feels to be in a Grand Slam for this long and I think the experience of the first time helped me get into a final a second and a third time.”

He continued, “The tournament was very special in itself. You could say a once-in-a-century experience which hopefully won’t repeat itself for a long time. Constantly playing behind closed doors.”

“With each match, it got better and better and we had a very special final against Sascha Zverev, with 7-6 in the fifth set. That match was a classic, I’d say, from a sport point of view. It was the best moment of my career so far.”

Since winning his maiden major Thiem has struggled for form, with a wrist injury that required surgery forcing him to drop out of the world’s top 300 last year.

However, the former No.3 has since fought his way back into the top 100 after reaching three ATP semi-finals at the back end of 2022.

Match of the year contender ❓🤯
Comeback kid 🇦🇹 Thiem continues after defeating nr.1 seed 🇵🇱 Hurkacz 3-6 7-6(9) 7-6(4) in an AMAZING atmosphere in ANTWERP 😳🦁
🔜 🇺🇸 Sebastian Korda#EuropeanOpen | #ATPTour | #Tennis pic.twitter.com/H1kblOpFVx
— European Open (@EuroTennisOpen) October 21, 2022

Thiem has struggled for results in 2023 so far, winning only a third of his matches this year and now turns his attention to his ‘worst Grand Slam by a distance’, Wimbledon.

“For me, in terms of results, Wimbledon is my worst Grand Slam by a distance,” revealed Thiem. “The last match I won there was six years ago – so a long time.”

“Grass is just different. The bounce of the ball is much lower. Serve is much more important. Often a few points can make the difference. You’ll probably also get a lot more breaks on grass, so it’s a lot more difficult but at the same time, it’s a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it’s a very brief season but it’s about getting the most out of it.”

Despite his struggles at SW19, the Austrian still appears to be looking forward to the grass major beginning next week, “I think everybody knows Wimbledon. Not just sports fans or tennis fans. It’s the tournament with the greatest tradition and it’s the dream of every player and of every fan to be there and to watch games.”

Thiem will find out his first round opponent tomorrow when the Wimbledon main draw is announced at 10am (BST).

Dominic Thiem at Grand Slams

After Thiem spoke about his previous poor form at Wimbledon, we at Tennishead wanted to investigate the difference between his results at the grass court major compared to the other three Grand Slams.

Dominic Thiem Overall Grand Slam win-loss record: 74-32 (70%)

Australian Open

Win-loss record: 19-9 (68%)

Best result: Final (2020)

Roland Garros

Win-loss record: 28-10 (74%)

Best result: Final (2018 & 2019)

Wimbledon

Win-loss record: 5-6 (45%)

Best result: Fourth Round (2017)

US Open

Win-loss record: 22-7 (76%)