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Can Dominic Thiem win his first Grand Slam?

By Keshav Gopalan

ROME, ITALY - MAY 16: Dominic Thiem of Austria plays a backhand in his match against Fabio Fognini of Italy during day four of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2018 tennis at Foro Italico on May 16, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - MAY 16: Dominic Thiem of Austria plays a backhand in his match against Fabio Fognini of Italy during day four of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2018 tennis at Foro Italico on May 16, 2018 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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In a season where the expectations were very high, many would say Dominic Thiem has underperformed. He crashed out in his first match in Rome, failed to defend his finalist position in Barcelona and failed to win Madrid despite beating Rafael Nadal.

Many assumed Nadal to be Thiem’s biggest test, but that didn’t seem to be the case, with Alexander Zverev winning comfortably against a player many hailed to be the second best clay courter for the season.

While Thiem has just won a clay title in Lyon, his form is questionable seeing that he had tough matches against players who he should ideally beat without breaking a sweat. This begs the question, can Thiem win the French Open?

Thiem suffered an ankle injury in Indian Wells during his third round match against Pablo Cuevas
Thiem suffered an ankle injury in Indian Wells during his third round match against Pablo Cuevas /

Ankle issues?

In his third round match in Indian Wells, Thiem retired in the third set of the match against Pablo Cuevas. The injury that caused the withdrawal was an ankle fracture, which also lead to a withdrawal in Indian Wells. While Thiem has played the entire clay season, there is a possibility that his ankle is still causing some minor and nagging issues, enough for his level to drop a little bit. It’ll be pertinent for him to work through it as he tries to win his first slam, but the question is if he can do it.

Thiem might meet Zverev in the Quarter-finals and Djokovic in the Semi-finals
Thiem might meet Zverev in the Quarter-finals and Djokovic in the Semi-finals /

A tough draw

Thiem has a difficult draw, to put things lightly. He faces Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. Tsitsipas has had a fantastic clay season, with a final in Barcelona against Nadal. He beat Thiem on his way to the final in the quarterfinals, and pose as a major threat for Thiem’s chances.

Thiem’s possible third-round opponent is former semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis. While the chances of this matchup are low, if Gulbis is to get to the third round, it is likely that he’ll be in excellent form.

He’s likely to meet Kei Nishikori in the fourth round and Zverev in the Quarterfinals, while either Novak Djokovic or David Goffin in the Semifinals. Nadal awaits in the finals.

Conclusion

This is a very difficult draw, and if Thiem plays similar to how he has in the last two weeks, it smells like trouble. He’s also defending semi-finalist points from last year, and this will be of importance if Thiem wants to stay in the top 10. In the end, momentum will play a key role in his performance. Grand Slams are a different ball game altogether, and if the added time between games helps, it can be possible for Thiem to finally breakthrough.

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