Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem are eager to have a great run in 2021. Both players are top contenders for the biggest titles and they also share a rather peculiar dream: beating Rafael Nadal at the French Open.
The King of Clay has an impossible 100-2 win-loss record at the Roland Garros after he won the slam 13 times. As per Novak Djokovic’s words, beating Nadal at the French Open is the biggest challenge in tennis and probably in all sports right now.
Thiem, Tsitsipas vs. Nadal in Australia
Both Dominic and Stefanos will have the chance to face Nadal at least once during the Australian swing. Dominic will challenge Nadal at the upcoming exhibition in Adelaide on the 29th of January. Stefanos will play Rafa at the ATP Cup on the 4th of February.
Thiem about beating Nadal
Dominic lost in the Roland Garros final twice at the hands of Rafa in 2018 and 2019 (details), collecting just 1 set of 7 in both matches. Dominic has a prestigious 6-9 head to head record against the Spaniard and he beat him already on 4 occasions on the dirt, but not in Paris.
During a recent interview, Dominic revealed:
“I’ve never managed to beat him there. At other tournaments, I’m confident, because I’ve already done it, but beating him on this center court is probably one of the hardest challenges in sport.
Only two players have managed to defeat him in 16 years (Djokovic and Soderling), which is an insane statistic. I think that he”ll still be the undisputed favourite and the strongest player in Paris for another year or two. But still, it’s my big goal and I’ll try again in 2021.”
Tsitsipas about beating Nadal
Stefanos has a less flattering H2H record against Nadal (1-6). The Spanish sensation is still too good for the world no.6 that has the goal of beating him in Paris. Stefanos commented:
“A really good goal would be maybe to beat Rafa on clay, or at Roland-Garros, that would be a really nice goal.
I think everyone would love that, especially me. He’s such a difficult player to play against, very difficult, very consistent, incredible fighting spirit. I consider myself a fighter but he’s completely next level, incomparable. That would be a realistic, I hope, goal, not too much to ask.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2021
Ranked world no.6, Tsitsipas played his last match on the 19th of November 2020 when he was defeated by Rafael Nadal 6-4 4-6 6-2 in the round robin in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This season the Greek owns an overall 0-0 match record.
Dominic Thiem in 2021
Ranked no.3 (career-high), Dominic played his last encounter on the 22nd of November 2020 when he was overcome by Daniil Medvedev 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4 in the final in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This year Thiem has a composed 0-0 record.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem clashed against each other 8 times. Their actual head to head record is 5-3 for Thiem. Previously, the last time when they squared off, Dominic Thiem won 7-6(5) 4-6 6-3 in the round robin in London (Nitto ATP Finals) in November 2020.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Rafael Nadal in 2021
At the moment ranked no.2, Nadal played his last match on the 21st of November 2020 when he was defeated by Daniil Medvedev 3-6 7-6(4) 6-3 in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This year the Spaniard has a 0-0 win-loss record.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Dominic Thiem |
| Embed from Getty Images |
