Thiem slowly stepping away from clay-court label

Long-regarded as the "Prince of Clay", Dominic Thiem has worked hard to shed that moniker and hopes to improve on his hard court success at the Nitto ATP Finals.

After finishing runner-up at consecutive French Opens, the Austrian finally won his maiden Grand slam at the 2020 US Open. Furthermore, he claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title last year at Indian Wells, indicating that perhaps he is more of a threat on hard courts than expected.

“Maybe sometimes I am even more comfortable on a hard court." Thiem said. "I guess the results from late 2019 until today, they were even better on hard courts. It suits most parts of my game even better than the clay court.”

Although the World No.3 won his first four ATP titles on clay, his style of play has given him an edge when battling on hard courts. The 27-year old practiced on clay during the pandemic-induced ATP suspension, but was eager to switch to the faster hard courts upon resumption of the Tour.

“When it was set that the US Open was going to happen, I was super happy to be back on hard courts,” Thiem said. “Same after the French Open again. Now I almost feel the same on both surfaces.”

After being honored in his native Austria with the Sportsman of the Year Award, the US Open champion arrived in London for the season-ending ATP Finals. Thiem will face reigning champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in a rematch of last year's final, with the Austrian holding a 4-3 career lead over his Greek opponent.

Prior to the Finals in London next week, the Sofia Open is the last tournament of the season. Click here for up-to-date results and live scores.