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With the Australian Open 2021 set to begin next month, the world number three and last year's Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem expressed that winning a Roland Garros title is his next "big goal".
Thiem has come close to defeating the king of clay, Rafael Nadal twice in the French Open and this year he has his sight set on winning Roland Garros. Speaking to Eurosport Germany's Tennis Podcast Thiem said, "2020 was sensational from a sporting point of view. The feeling of winning the Grand Slam was the best I've ever experienced in my tennis career. I want to achieve that again. Paris is probably the big goal. It's probably been my favourite tournament since my junior final and I've always played very well there the last few years. It's an absolutely overpowering opponent there, but that's the next really big goal. Next to the other big tournaments, it's the event that has the highest priority." Current US Open Champion Thiem spoke about how he is dealing with the quarantine norms, "It's very crazy times, but we knew what to expect. Here in Australia, it's a bit stricter again, which is understandable. The coronavirus is almost extinct in their country and they want to prevent it from being brought back in. It's very strict. We can train for about two hours a day and go out for about four hours. The rest of the time is spent in the hotel," he said. The Austrian further continued to talk about the strict quarantine for some affected players and said, "Honestly, for the 70 players who were on the planes, it is of course very bitter. They will certainly be at a serious competitive disadvantage, that's for sure. There are still nine days until the start of the Australian Open, but in contrast to the others who can train normally, this is a huge disadvantage. "There's no need to discuss that. It was unbelievably unfortunate for them, and I feel very sorry for them. But of course, everyone knew what they were getting into. Tennis Australia and the whole country have tried everything to let the tournament take place and that is also a sensational achievement," he added. As the Covid-19 cases numbers have seen an increase among the players under quarantine, uncertainty still looms large over the final organization of the tournament. But the Austrian remains positive despite the tough circumstances, he said "For me it is still reasonable. It sounds harsh now, but there are only 70 players in quarantine, everyone else in Melbourne can train normally. It would be unfair to everyone else who made the long journey if the tournament were to be cancelled now. It was everybody's own decision to travel here. Nobody had to do it. So, I already believe the tournament will take place." (ANI)
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