Is Dominic Thiem Rafael Nadal’s non-official successor?

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The 25-year-old Austrian tennis player has had a vertiginous rise in the ranking of the ATP (# 4 world), to which he adds his second Roland Garros's final

Dominic Thiem, also nicknamed 'Dominator', was born in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, on September 3, 1993. The passion for tennis is in his blood, as both parents were players and coaches of the sport. His goal since childhood was to become a professional tennis player and, therefore, from age 10 his father enrolled him in a tennis academy, according to the Historia-Biografía website. His coach from that moment, Günter Bresnik, instilled in him an offensive game style which led him to be the "best junior player in Austria", to get a second place in the ITF Junior world ranking of 2011 and to reach the final of Roland Garros – Junior.

Leer en español: ¿Dominic Thiem es el sucesor natural de Rafael Nadal?

Since young, Thiem has been a promise of tennis, but it has required from him dedicated training to reach the physical condition to fully exploit his skill in the discipline. Therefore, his coach went to a former army officer, Sepp Resnik, to take care of his physical conditioning, according to the website Mundo D la Voz, with whom he trained for 4 years. Later, his climb in professional tennis was sudden: in February 2014 he was in the top 100; six months later, in August, he was among the 50 and in June 2016 he made entered the Top 10.  

According to a publication in the newspaper ABC, Thiem has skills and abilities to stand out in the game on clay, for what some have described him as "the heir of Nadal." However, "Dominator" does not want to be qualified in any way, but rather to win the title thanks to his skills on the court. The Austrian is right and has the right technique for each case and opponent. Also, his backhand is of great impact and generates discomfort in the response of his opponent for how he positions the ball.  

Thiem has faced Nadal 12 times, of which 11 have been in clay and in which Nadal has shown dominance, since he has won 7 matches and Thiem 4, according to La Razón. However, he is the second most victorious over Nadal after Djokovic, who has beaten him 7 times.

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As reviewed in Historia-Biografía , several experts, coaches, and colleagues of Thiem have agreed that the words "explosiveness, technique, and speed" define the tennis player. Another of his passions is soccer: he is a Chelsea fan and, in that sport, he founded a team, TFC Matzendorf, according to ABC. He also fulfilled the Military Service that is mandatory in his country.

According to the World Ranking published on the official website of the Association of Professional Tennis Players ATP, Thiem is currently in fourth place with 4,685 points, surpassed by Roger Federer (6,670), Rafael Nadal (7,945) and Novak Djokovic (12,715). In spite of having been defeated in the semifinals, Djokovic remains in the first position due to the great difference in points with respect to the others, and in second place the winner of the Grand Slam 2019, Rafael Nadal, after defeating Thiem, 6- 3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, according to Sport.

So far, the Austrian has 13 titles. The most recent ones, according to the ATP page, are in the Tournament of Buenos Aires, Lyon and St. Petersburg in 2018 and the Tournament of Barcelona and the ATP Master 1000 Indian Wells in 2019. At 25, he is who divides veterans from the new generation of tennis players, but he is in the eye of the storm with people observing him and his performance in each of the tournaments.

LatinAmerican Post | Daniela Escalante

Translated from "¿Dominic Thiem es el sucesor natural de Rafael Nadal?"