Rafael Nadal consoles Dominic Thiem after the Austrian lost to the Spaniard in the final of the French Open Grand Slam tournament last year. (Getty Images)
Dominic Thiem had lost to Rafael Nadal in the Roland Garros final last year
Dominic Thiem claimed that in order to succeed at Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal, a player needs to beat not just him but also his legend.
Nadal is the holder of a record 12 Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros, with the latest of his titles being won last year. Nadal commonly known as the ‘King of Clay’ cruised to his 12th crown at the French Open at the expense of Thiem.
It was Thiem’s second successive loss at the Roland Garros finals, after having lost to Nadal in the summit clash just the year before. However, it was a major revelation for the Austrian as he explained why he failed to overthrow Nadal on his favourite Grand Slam event.
“When you face Rafa at Roland Garros, you always have in mind that he has lost only twice. So, you have to not only beat him, but also his legend. I can assure you that the night and the hours before facing Rafa are not really pleasant,” Thiem said during an interview for Eurosport.
Thiem ranked third, and just one spot behind Nadal suffered a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 loss against the Spaniard last year to emerge runner-up at the Roland Garros for the second consecutive time.
Meanwhile, Thiem revealed that it was in the 2019 French Open final that he felt 100 percent certain that he could beat his opponent Nadal.
He also added that though he had doubts about facing the Spaniard in other matches, he had arrived for last year’s final with great confidence.
“During the 2019 final, it was the first time that I approached the match being 100% aware that I was able to beat Rafa. In the other games, I had doubts, but for this one, I arrived with great confidence after beating Djokovic in the semi-final,” Thiem recollected.
However, it did not turn out to be as Thiem expected as he clearly explained in his statements.
“Against Rafa, I really gave everything and I played the two best sets of my life on clay. I felt great, but Rafa was amazing. I never asked him if he felt so good afterwards, but he showed why he had 12 titles at Roland Garros,” he explained.
According to Thiem, everything seemed difficult while facing Nadal. He was of the opinion that a player had to fight for each ball and had to exceed his limits, both mentally and physically while facing the 33-year-old Nadal.
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