Dominic Thiem reflects on heartbreaking Australian Open loss

In 2020, Dominic Thiem was extremely close to winning his first Australian Open, and at the time, his first Grand Slam, as he fell short to Novak Djokovic.

The Australian Open 2021 is drawing near, and as players prepare for the event during their quarantine, some have opted to emphasise on physical training while others are keeping their fans entertained on social media. Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem has taken this opportunity to reflect on his run at Melbourne Park in 2020, where he conceded defeat to Novak Djokovic in a 5-set thriller final to remember.

It was the last Grand Slam tournament that was unaffected by COVID-19, the Australian Open of 2020, which incorporated a packed out stadium and fans coming in from all over the world to witness the spectacle. Dominic Thiem had an amazing run to the final, winning 3 tie-breaks to overcome Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, and winning 2 tie-breaks to get passed Alexander Zverev in the semis.

The Austrian’s fighting spirit did not cease there, and he continued to show a relentlessly strong effort in the finals against world no.1 Novak Djokovic. After dropping the first set 4-6, Thiem went on to win the next 2 sets 6-4 and 6-2, after receiving very loud cheers of support from the crowd, much to the frustration of Djokovic.

While there was controversy surrounding an unusual medical timeout by Novak Djokovic during the 3rd set, Dominic Thiem seemed indifferent about it upon being questioned about it during a post-match interview.

"“Not at all. Obviously he had some issues in the third set, then he recovered well,” Thiem stated. “I mean, was just two toilet breaks, so there was nothing special about it.”"

Dominic Thiem, who continued to fight well during the rest of the match, ultimately conceded defeat to Novak Djokovic who seemed to have found some form back, winning the 4th and 5th sets 6-3 and 6-4. Despite eventually securing his first Grand Slam at the US Open of 2020, Dominic Thiem seems to have lost no motivation for the Australian Open 2021, commenting:

"“The next big goal is the Australian Open, definitely.”"

During his time quarantining in Adelaide, Thiem has been reflecting on his loss against Djokovic at the Australian Open final, commenting that he now knows how “tough and brutal” a Grand Slam can be. After winning the US Open of 2020 by toppling Alexander Zverev in a 5-set comeback final, the Austrian certainly has alot of positive momentum going for him, particularly for the fact that he won this most recent hard-court surfaced Grand Slam, as he heads into the Australian Open.

Perhaps most notably however, is that Dominic Thiem has defeated both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in their last encounters, which were at the Nitto ATP Finals of 2020. Coming out of a positive record against the only 2 participating members of the Big 3 for the Australian Open 2021, it would seem that Dominic Thiem may just be the man to beat this year.