Tennis: Nadal at Roland-Garros, he went through hell!
A great player renowned on the circuit for having managed to stand up to the Big 3 quite often, Dominic Thiem has been going through a real struggle for two years already. The Austrian is barely in the top 100 and can no longer stand out successfully. Moreover, he announced at the start of the season that if he did not manage to climb the rankings, he would certainly end his career. On the occasion of the UTS, Patrick Mouratoglou’s exhibition, he spoke about a difficult memory: playing Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros.
Present last month to playUTS in Norway, Dominic Thiem played this exhibition to hit the ball with some of the best players in the world. During these meetings, it is not uncommon to see players discussing tennis around a table. One sequence in particular concerns Alex de Minaur, Casper Ruud et Dominic Thiem talking about Rafael Nadal and lucky to be able to face it.
Thiem, a former executioner
By achieving a breakthrough in the mid-2010s, Dominic Thiem shone especially on clay and his clashes with Rafael Nadal have very often been incredible. “I played it four times at Roland-Garros: 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019” he said before Casper Ruud remind him that he has often shone. “But I remember you beat him in Rome, Barcelona, Madrid and Buenos Aires. So you still beat him a few times.” specifies the Norwegian.
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Roland-Garros, another affair
Throughout his career, Rafael Nadal excelled on clay and particularly Roland-Garros where he won the title 14 times. Among all these victories, 4 are against Dominic Thiemincluding two in the final in 2018 and 2019. Obviously, it is a mixed memory for the Austrian.“Yes, but at Roland Garros, it’s different. It is at Roland‐Garros that he moves to a higher level. It can be ugly at some point. We no longer know how to win a point” he declares.
A new meeting
Returning to competition Brisbane at the very beginning of the year, Rafael Nadal had no choice but to forfeit theAustralian Open and for all other tournaments so far. The Mallorcan will return to clay because we think he has one idea in mind: to shine at Roland-Garros one last time. Dominic Thiem said it, the Parisian Grand Slam is a different moment for him since he always manages to sublimate himself…
