Dominic Thiem has won four of the last five matches against Novak Djokovic (Getty)
Dominic Thiem vs Novak Djokovic is one of the biggest matches in tennis now, and they have met several times in singles head to head competition.
Djokovic is the older of the pair and has six years more experience of playing in the ATP circuit.
The Serbian also has won 17 Grand Slams and is considered as one of the greatest to have ever played the game.
Djokovic has had to battle the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer but the rise of the ‘next gens’ poses a different test.
Thiem, for his part, is yet to win a Grand Slam title, but the Austrian has been improving his game consistently.
The 26-year-old has lost a couple of French Open finals to Nadal, but it is difficult to bet against the Spaniard at Roland Garros.
Until the 2020 Australian Open, Thiem and Djokovic have faced each other head to head 11 times, and it is the Djoker who has the edge.
The first time the pair met was in the ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai event with Djokovic winning in straight sets.
Thiem had just been pro for a couple of years, and Djokovic was in great form. The Serbian again won in straight sets at another ATP event, this time in Miami, and the domination from the 32-year-old continued.
Their first meeting in a Grand Slam took place at Roland Garros in 2016. Djokovic won that match in straight sets too and with relative ease.
The first time Thiem took a set off Djokovic was in their next clash at the ATP Finals in 2016. However, Djokovic came roaring back from losing 7-6 and won the next two sets 6-0 and 6-2.
Djokovic made it five wins in a row at the ATP Masters event in Rome but things took a turn after this meeting.
Their next clash at Roland Garros in 2017 saw Thiem dump Djokovic out in straight sets in the quarter-final.
Thiem won three of the next four clashes against the Serbian with their last clash at the Nitto ATP Finals at the end of 2019.
It was Thiem that came out on top after this win, and the pair are faced off at the Australian Open 2020 final too.
Their last meeting at a Grand Slam was the 2019 Roland Garros, and it was Thiem that came out on top with a gruelling five-set win.
Djokovic still holds the head to head edge with six wins from the 10 clashes. However, the Austrian has a great record in the last five games.
The 11th clash was at the Australian Open and it was Djokovic who won the final to extend his head to head lead to 7-4 over Thiem.
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Thiem still has four wins from the last six against the Djoker, and it will be interesting to see if the Austrian can win a Grand Slam.
Note: This piece was last updated after the 2020 Australian Open final
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