Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has heaped huge praise on the US Open 2020 champions Dominic Thiem. The Austrian became the first man born in the 1990s to win a major men’s singles title. Furthermore, the 27-year old became the first tennis player in the Open era (first since 1939) to come back from two sets down to win the US Open.
Meanwhile, Nadal had pulled out of the US open due to the scare of the Covid-19. However, the Spaniard is all set to make a return to competitive tennis in the Italian open, where he will play the first round match against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.
Nadal decided not to defend his US Open title and when the number one seed Novak Djokovic was disqualified, it became clear that the US Open 2020 will have a new champion.
It was down to Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem and it was the latter who had the last laugh by 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6). In fact, Zverev had the advantage on his side after winning the first two sets but Thiem was able to make a roaring comeback into the match to clinch his maiden Grand slam title.
Meanwhile, Thiem has failed to go past Rafael Nadal in the last two finals of the French Open. It is always a difficult job for any player to beat Nadal at clay and Thiem has also felt the same. Nadal stated that the Austrian deserved to win the championship.
“I am happy for Dominic. If anyone deserves to win a big title, this is him. He’s a hard worker, very focused on his goals. He’s a good person. He really deserves it”, Nadal said.
“I’m sorry for Sasha (Zverev). He was very close to the final, but somewhere I think Dominic was a little bit stronger throughout the tournament and after a lot of years of hard work he deserved to win the title. Sasha will have other opportunities in the future.”
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal has won the Italian Open on nine occasions and he would aim to clinch his 10th title in Rome. On the other hand, the King of Clay has won 12 Roland Garros titles and he will once again be the favourite.
