‘I will do everything I can to keep Roger Federer No 1,’ jokes Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem press conference

Now that he has had a taste of Grand Slam success, Dominic Thiem is hoping to add a few more majors to his collection and, should he be successful, he would do Roger Federer a big favour in the process.

Thiem added his name to the Grand Slam winner’s circle a fortnight ago when he beat Alexander Zverev in five sets to win the US Open and become the first player outside the Big Three of Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win a major since 2016.

While the Austrian is on No 1 in terms of majors won, Federer leads the way with 20 with Nadal on 19 and Djokovic on 17.

Another Grand Slam is up for grabs at this week’s French Open at Roland Garros and Thiem was asked if Federer will be rooting for him.

“I promise: I will do everything I can to keep Roger number 1! (laughs),” he told Blich.

He did get a call from Federer after the US Open final.

“He congratulated me, wrote a long message, which made me very happy,” he said. “We are also in regular contact. In the run-up to the US Open, we kept talking to each other on the phone, mainly because of the ATP stories.

“I’m very happy when Roger is back on tour. Everyone feels that way.”

Although Thiem would love to win several more majors, he is also pragmatic.

“I’m realistic, reaching Federer, Nadal and Djokovic will not work out,” he said. “Of course I want to win more big titles. But I could now look back on my career calmly and without a crying eye, because I have achieved the very big goal.”

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