Tennis News : Despite having runner-up to the French Open twice, Dominic Thiem’s chances of reaching the top in the new season are still far away, according to Roger Federer’s coach Ivan Ljubicic.
Former world number 3, Ljubicic believes that Thiem still has a long way to go to compete with the Big Three, a group of players consisting of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Thiem ended the 2019 season with 49-19, including winning the biggest title of his career to date, the first Masters 1000 title in his career at Indian Wells (defeating Roger Federer). Overall, Thiem won five titles in the 2019 season, an achievement that equaled the achievements of Novak Djokovic in the 2019 season.
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“He can win the tournament, but will he become world number 1 next season? Maybe. But I think not yet, “said Ljubicic.
“It’s quite difficult to say whether he will become world number 1. Maybe the Big Three tennis player will eventually stop one day. But Dominic’s road is still steep. “
“We cannot predict the future. Dominic is a great tennis player, he beat Roger twice this season. But how many Grand Slams did the Big Three win? Dominic has only played the Grand Slam final twice. That’s a big difference. “
Despite doubting Thiem’s chances, Ljubicic believes that Thiem has something that will win him the Grand Slam title someday, an achievement that has not been made by other Austrian players since Thomas Musters won the 1995 French Open.
Thiem sauntered to the semifinals or better than that at the last four French Open. But in other Grand Slams, he only managed to pitch to the quarterfinals, namely at the 2018 US Open.
Thiem has a big task to be able to challenge the Big Three in the new season, along with other young players, such as Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. All these young tennis players have shown their potential.
“Dominic and Stefanos played really well at the ATP Finals. But when you look back at the winners in London in the last three seasons, they have to prove themselves. They beat the Big Three, because they are quite good, but they have to show that they can be consistent in the Grand Slam semifinals, be in the top 5, and fight for the title from one month to another, “added Ljubicic.
