Dominic Thiem broke the shackles of the Big-3’s dominance and finally achieved his childhood dream of winning a Grand Slam title this season. Despite losing the two opening sets in the final of the 2020 US Open, Thiem waged an incredible comeback to win the championship in an epic five-set thriller.

The massive victory has been a huge confidence booster for the Austrian, and his consistency at the top level over the last years has borne great results. Recently, during an interview, Thiem expressed that Grand Slam tournaments were his utmost priority in the future. He put more importance on winning the big titles than his ATP rankings.

“It depends on what I play for a year. The Grand Slams are my top priority. If I don’t win a Grand Slam or play a final there, I might not be satisfied. But if I’m number four and win one and maybe not playing so well the rest of the year, I would be happier,” said Thiem.

Having reached four major championship finals until now, Thiem has shown his capability to perform on all surfaces. Thiem has won 3 of his last 5 matches against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, while he has triumphed in 4 out of the last 5 matches against Roger Federer.

“I also want number one”: Dominic Thiem

However, the two-time French Open runner-up also expressed his desire of becoming the No. 1 ranked player in the world. But he revealed that the desire to win a Grand Slam still held more meaning to him.

“The desire is there, when I’m number three, I also want number one. It is now not as great as the desire for a Grand Slam title was or is now still of a second. But of course it would be incredibly beautiful,” remarked Thiem.

With the 2021 Australian Open starting from February, Thiem will be one of the favorite contenders to win the title. Having ended as the runner-up at the 2020 Australian Open final, Thiem will aim to go the distance at Melbourne Park next year.