Tennis 'Big Three' Warned About New Grand Slam Winner

KEY POINTS

Dominic Thiem won his first Grand Slam title at the 2020 US Open
Thiem's coach is convinced he could soon match tennis' "Big Three"
Russia's Andrey Rublev reveals how it was like to train with Thiem

The “Big Three” may have found a fierce rival in Dominic Thiem.

Tennis men’s singles bracket has been dominated by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for years. To date, they are still in the ATP’s top five.

But last year, Thiem finally reached the pinnacle of his career and is now presenting a strong case to become the biggest name in the sport.

In an interview with ADN Radio, Thiem’s coach Nicolas Massu admitted that it remains a tough task to exceed Djokovic, Nadal and Federer but make no mistake about his pupil as he has the potential to “equally” match them.

"He is very complete,” Massu said of Thiem. “He plays well on all surfaces, he has a great serve, forehand, backhand, he moves well. He has the talent to do things much better than you think. It will always be difficult to play against the best in history [Federer, Nadal and Djokovic], but if there is anyone who can compete equally with them it is Dominic Thiem. ”

“If you do what you have to do, you will always have a chance of winning," he added.

Could Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic be retiring in a few years? Pictured, Nadal of Spain (L) and Djokovic of Serbia hits a forehand react after watching a video replay while on the sidelines during the Tie Break Tens ahead of the 2018 Australian Open at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 10, 2018. Michael Dodge/Getty Images

Last September, Thiem won his first Grand Slam title after defeating Germany’s Alexander “Sascha” Zverev in the 2020 US Open. But for Massu, who once competed against Djokovic, there’s still room for improvement.

"He [Thiem] has a lot to keep improving,” the coach assessed. “It is not easy to do so because the margin is very small at this level. [But] Dominic Thiem is at a perfect age. Being No. 3 in the world, he has chances like others.”

Like any other superstar athlete, Thiem’s success was also a byproduct of talent and work ethic.

Though some haven’t seen how the 27-year-old train yet, the world’s No. 8 player, Andrey Rublev recently revealed that Thiem is also intense during training sessions as he is on the court.

“Dominic Thiem is one of the players that I like to train with the most,” Rublev told Tennis World. “We have training sessions at an incredible level and with high intensity.”

“If spectators were allowed to watch training sessions as before, they’d like them a lot,” he continued. “We have high speed, the ball is in play for a long time, we relish how everything turns out.”

Aside from being one of the sport's up-and-comers, Rublev shared that Thiem is a good person outside the court.

“He (Thiem) is also a very good guy, friendly and kind,” the Russian divulged.