Dominic Thiem made a brutally honest confession during this week's podcast appearance as the former world No. 3 admitted that he knew he would lose both of his French Open finals to Rafael Nadal the moment he stepped out on the court.
In 2018, a 24-year-old Thiem made his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros after upsetting Novak Djokovic in a five-set semifinal. As a reward for sending Djokovic home, the Austrian got a chance to play against none other than Nadal in the final. Unfortunately, it didn't go well for him as the King of Clay routinely got the job done 6-4 6-3 6-2 to lift what was his 11th title in Paris at the time.
Thiem, who had established himself as the best clay court player after Nadal, beat Djokovic again in the 2019 French Open semifinal. But again, the Spanish tennis icon was standing on his way to the title. While the Austrian competed better this time and even won a set, he still didn't come anywhere near winning as the Spaniard sealed a 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 win.
Thiem on his two French Open finals vs Nadal: I knew today is not the day
“You go on the centre court, you do the warm-up before the match, and then the speaker is introducing you. He says, yeah, like nine ATP titles, and the crowd is applauding. And then he starts to introduce Rafa. Winner of the French Open 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008… and the crowd is going crazy. Then starts 10, 11, 12, 13. And you’ve already lost the match. It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced," the Austrian tennis legend said on Business of Sport.
“First of all, I was happy to be in the final, then I was physically not 100% anymore. And then Rafa was standing next to me with his huge aura, with already 10 French Open titles. I knew somehow, yeah, today is not the day."
Roland Garros was considered Thiem's best chance at winning a Grand Slam. But in the end, the Austrian's lone Slam title came at the US Open in 2020 when he beat Alexander Zverev in the final.
