Dominic Thiem says 'More players out of big 3 will win a Slam in the near future'

Dominic Thiem became the first player not part of the 'BIG 3' to win Slam in a while and he believes that will happen more often in the future.

The BIG 3 have been dominating tennis for the better part of 20 years but Dominic Thiem thinks it will slowly come to an end in the future. Speaking on that topic he said:

"The Grand Slams are still dominated by the Big 3. It's way tougher to beat them, to win three sets against them, it's way more difficult of course than to win two [sets]. That's one of the big reasons."

Thiem explained that many next-gen players already are playing finals so for him it's only a matter of time when they start winning them. People also spoke about the era of the BIG 3 saying:

“I also think a lot of people underestimate the time and the era we are playing in, with by far the three best players in the history of the game. I think it's more than clear that it's incredibly tough to win Grand Slam tournaments, having to beat two of them most of the time.”

Thiem returned to tennis in Madrid reaching the semifinal before falling to eventual champion Zverev. Ahead of his opening match in Rome against Fuscovics he gave a brief assessment:

"Health-wise everything is fine. Before Madrid, I had like two-and-a-half, three weeks of really tough practice, so I got used to it again. I recovered quite well after the four matches."

For Thiem nothing changes whether he plays in R1 or the final as he admitted the pressure was always the same but also highlighting the positives of the break he took:

“The pressure is always the same. When I step on court, I want to win the match. There are going to be lots of close calls, close situations. I'm always going to be nervous. That's how it's going to be until the end of my career. But still the break was really good.”