Dominic Thiem ‘knew he would lose’ both of his French Open finals against Rafael Nadal
Dominic Thiem has revealed that playing Rafael Nadal in the final of the French Open was ‘one of the worst’ experiences of his life, recognising that he would not win the match.
The Austrian retired at the ATP 500 event in Austria in 2024 after suffering from wrist pain for more than three years, unable to return to form.
Thiem reached a career-high ranking of world No 3 and claimed his maiden – and only – Grand Slam title at the 2020 US Open (beating Alexander Zverev).
However, Thiem revealed his two French Open finals against the undisputed best clay-court player of all-time were not easy to handle.
“If you are an opponent against Rafa in the French Open final, like the tournament doesn’t make it easy,” the Austrian admitted, during an interview with Business with Sport.
“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 9 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.”
Thiem first reached the French Open final in 2018, after dropping just three sets along the way – including dominating second seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals.
At just 24 years old, the former world No 3 had beaten Nadal in straight sets at the Madrid Open four weeks prior.
However, as he quickly found out, Nadal at the French Open is a different beast.
“First of all, I was happy to be in the final, then I was physically not 100% anymore,” added Thiem.
“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.”
In the end, the 2020 US Open champion fell 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
12 months later, Thiem had collected another victory over the tennis legend at the Barcelona Open, reaching the showpiece match after battling through a five-set epic against Novak Djokovic in the last four.
“I really was convinced that I was able to win the finals, to win the French Open,” admitted Thiem.
“I didn’t see myself as an underdog, I saw it as a 50-50 match, and I played really well. But it was so impressive how he was raising his level; it was just unbelievable. Kudos to him.”
Despite winning one more set than he had collected a year prior, the Spaniard, nevertheless, sensationally lifted his level in response, dominating the final two sets for a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory.
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Later on in the interview, Thiem also revealed that he recognised the raw talent of world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz when the five-time grand Slam was just 15 years old.
“I was practising with Carlos when he was 15 or 16 in Rio De Janeiro, and he was very skinny back then, but the practice was so intense,” he stated
“I was talking to my coach after, and we were saying this guy is going to be amazing, 100%.
“Maybe yes, maybe no. Luckily, he became one, but it’s very different.
“Sometimes you can see it and it’s so obvious, like I think with Rafa and with Carlos. And then there are players who are developing a bit later, where you cannot see it.”
