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MONTE-CARLO, MONACO – APRIL 18: Dominic Thiem of Austria shows his dejection during his straight set defeat against Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in their third round match during day five of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on April 18, 2019 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
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MONTE-CARLO, MONACO – APRIL 18: Dominic Thiem of Austria shows his dejection during his straight set defeat against Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in their third round match during day five of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on April 18, 2019 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
In the men’s game, Austria’s Dominic Thiem has become one of the most exciting prospects. Over the past couple of seasons, Dominic has made it to three Grand Slam finals. Having won the last major he played in, the world no. 3 will have a different approach to his game in the coming events.
People have long since wondered when players from the next generation would step up and challenge for the majors. Well, that time has arrived. Players like Thiem and even Daniil Medvedev have lifted their games. The match they played at the O2 gave a glimpse of what’s in store.
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Recently, former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli and American tennis player Noah Rubin highlighted the transformation the Austrian has undergone in the past 12-18 months.
Noah, himself being a Wimbledon junior champion, said, “Looking on the men’s side, Dominic Thiem, I think he’s kind of solidified his spot amongst being the third-best player in the world right now. He’s looking to overcome and possibly take the number two spot somehow.”
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Austria’s Dominic Thiem in action during his group stage match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
Marion Bartoli: Dominic Thiem belongs at the top
The former world no. 7 Bartoli was all praise for Thiem and his performances this season. Elaborating on Thiem’s season, she said, “I agree with Noah on Dominic Thiem. He has shown now for a year. He’s challenging Novak Djokovic really hard. Like the match at the Australian Open. And then taking the first grand slam title at the US Open, being in the final of the Masters, shows that he clearly belongs to the top three.”
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Bartoli also feels that Dominic is going to carry this impressive form into the next season and will achieve further glory. She further added, “And he will challenge those guys to win more slams. I don’t think he cared about the ranking too much. Now that he has his first grand slam title, he’s going to take more grand slams.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the Austrian performs at the Australian Open in February, considering he was the finalist this year.
