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“Nicest Guy On The Tour”: Former Austrian Footballer Has Golden Words of Praise for Dominic Thiem

Published 11/24/2020, 12:16 PM EST

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Dominic Thiem played some of his best tennis towards the end of 2020 but lost the battle at ATP Finals. He has certainly rose up to become an inspiration for many, and former footballer Frank Schinkels couldn’t be any prouder of his fellow Austrian. 

Schinkles recently wrote a column about Dominic Thiem in which the 57-year-old has sung the praise of the 2020 US Open champion. He hailed Thiem’s on-court humility and called him a “gentleman” for immensely respecting Daniil Medvedev during their finals matchup. 

“He is friendly to every ball jack, he is almost embarrassed that they have to get the balls for him. Thiem is just the nicest guy on the tour. He doesn’t have an enemy. Friendship only ends on the pitch,” Schinkles mentioned (Quotes translated from German via Google). 

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This is an overwhelming level of praise coming from a former professional sports personality like Schinkels. He clearly loves watching Dominic Thiem play and has high hopes about his future endeavors. 

“I want to be Dominic Thiem” – Frank Schinkels

It is quite common for fellow athletes or even retired ones to go out and praise others. Thiem has been performing at a very high level and he recently became just the second player to register five wins against the ‘Big 3.’ 

“Now we keep our fingers crossed for Thiem that he makes it to number 1. That would actually be the next logical step. The more often he plays against the giants Djokovic and Nadal, the more we have the feeling that Thiem is the stronger,” wrote Schinkels.

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The former footballer takes pride over the fact that legendary players like Federer are showering their “roses” on Dominic Thiem. Of course, the 27-year-old has been nothing short of inspirational with his recent success. 

Dominic Thiem shattered records with his US Open victory which also brought up his maiden Slam triumph. The Austrian’s hardworking path to success is earning him recognition and a chance to become the best in the world. 

Frank Schinkels is one inspired human due to Thiem’s heroics as he is now motivated to pick up the tennis racquet and master the backhand himself! Furthermore, he iterated why Thiem is ever more special to society as a whole. 

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“Much more important, however, is how Dominic motivates the many children and young people. This is priceless, especially in times like these.”

These are indeed words of gold from a retired professional to a rising champion. Dominic Thiem will undoubtedly soar to become the best in men’s tennis and hopefully, he can cement his status even more in 2021. 

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Written by:

Arjun Athreya

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Arjun Athreya is a senior writer at Essentially Sports and has been contributing since early 2020. Having developed an avid interest in sports at an early age, he pursued a Journalism degree and graduated from Madras Christian College. Arjun manages the Golf division and its content, and primarily covers news pertaining to the NBA as well.
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