French Open: Dominic Thiems Auslosung im Check

After the US Open is before the French Open – we’ve made our way since Dominic Thiem A closer look at the possible Grand Slam double package.

© Getty Images

Round 1: Marin Cilic

Dominic Thiem could hardly have had a more unpleasant start in Paris. With Marin Cilic, the Austrian awaits the winner of the US Open 2014 and a player who, in top form, can pose a threat to any of his opponents. The Croatian has been following this superior form for some time, but less than a month ago Thiem himself felt what Cilic is still capable of: At the US Open, the Lichtenwörther got lucky after two outstanding sets at the start. not having to go through the fifth round. The world number 39 feels on a hard court. According to his own statements, although he is more comfortable than in the sand, Cilic has already reached the quarter-finals twice at the French Open. Thiem, who has won all three previous matches against the 31-year-old, must be there from the start.

2nd round: Reilly Opelka / qualifier

Reilly Opelka, like Marin Cilic, is one of those actors that every player would like to avoid at the start of a Grand Slam tournament. With his brutal serve and powerful forehand, the 23-year-old American dominates many rallies, but these two weapons lose some of their penetration on clay. But beware: in the only duel between Thiem and Opelka so far, he brought the world number 36. The Austrians at Madrid, where they play on ashes since 2009, on the brink of defeat.

Qualifiers in the early rounds of a major tournament are always dangerous as they start the main competition with confidence after three victories in the preliminary round. Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem should be so playfully superior to these that this small advantage shouldn’t play too big of a role.

Round 3: Casper Ruud

Obviously, all bad things come in threes. Thiem could also expect an extremely nasty opponent in the third round. Casper Ruud caused a sensation last week with his entry to the semifinals in Rome and is currently teaching fear to his opponents in Hamburg. Sand is the absolute favorite surface for the Norwegian, who tries to dominate rallies with his forehand to a lot of spin. Should this clash occur, it would be the first between Thiem and Ruud.

4th round: Felix Auger-Aliassime / Stan Wawrinka

Felix Auger-Aliassime is undoubtedly one of the greatest talents on the ATP circuit! The only 20-year-old is already 21st in the world rankings and showed more than good approaches last season. At this year’s US Open, the FAA played in a Grand Slam round of 16 for the first time, but in this the Canadian had no chance in the only match against Thiem so far. Furthermore, sand is not the youngster’s favorite surface: this week, Felix Auger-Aliassime had to admit defeat to Alexander Bublik in Hamburg in the second round.

There is a big question mark behind Stan Wawrinka’s form before the start of the French Open. The Swiss lost to Lorenzo Musettti in the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome and even received the maximum penalty in the first set. Still, Wawrinka is an extremely unpleasant opponent when in shape. The 35-year-old also feels at home at Roland Garros: in 2015, Wawrinka, who faces Andy Murray in the first round this year, even triumphed in Paris! In the head-to-head with Thiem, “Stan the Man” has a 3-1 advantage.

Quarter-finals: Gael Monfils / Diego Schwartzman

Dominic Thiem’s ​​record against Gael Monfils is impressive: Lichtenwörther lead head-to-head 6: 0, the most recent win dating back to January 2020. At the Australian Open, the 27-year-old gave the favorite no chance of the fans. The knockout stages of the French Open were equally clear just over a year ago. The Frenchman is one of Thiem’s ​​favorite opponents and is also in a minor crisis; therefore, Thiem would probably not complain about a fourth-final match against Monfils.

After weaker performances in New York and Kitzbühel, Diego Schwartzman played his way to the final in Rome last week. Along the way, the Argentine even beat the clay king, Rafael Nadal; then the 28-year-old spoke of the best game of his career. Against Thiem, who leads 6-2 in a direct comparison, a similar performance should be required in a possible quarter-final.

Semifinals: Rafael Nadal

The ultimate challenge at Roland Garros could already await Thiem in this year’s semi-finals. If in the last two years against Rafael Nadal the final was in the final, in 2020 it would be the match of the two best clay court players of recent years in the semifinals. Although Thiem was able to win five of the 14 matches against the Spaniard, the world number three at Roland Garros is yet to have a victory against the twelve-time French Open champion. In the previous four meetings at the Bois de Boulogne, Thiem only won one set against Nadal.

Final: Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic should have breathed hard looking at the draw – Dominic Thiem landed in the bottom half and could only be the world’s number one opponent in the final. Last year, Thiem defeated the 17-time Grand Slam winner in a five-set battle, and the Austrian also won against Djokovic in Paris in 2017. A year earlier, the 33-year-old had clearly prevailed in three sentences. Overall, the Serb leads 7: 4 in a direct comparison, a possible finish between the two would also bring additional explosiveness. Finally, Thiem still has a bill from the 2020 Australian Open final with Djokovic.

Don’t miss any news!

Enable notifications:

Thiem Dominic