Dominic Thiem was one of many big retirements that took place on the ATP Tour last year.
Thiem retired at the Vienna Open in 2024, with a recurring wrist injury pushing the Austrian into this decision.
The biggest and last title of the 31-year-old’s career came when Thiem beat Alexander Zverev to win his only major at the US Open in 2020.
Now retired from the sport, Thiem has spoken about Zverev and whether he thinks his former rival can win an elusive Grand Slam title.
Dominic Thiem says if he thinks Alexander Zverev can win a Grand Slam
The 2020 US Open final, where Zverev led by two-sets-to-love, is one of three Grand Slam finals that the German has lost.
His most recent defeat came back in January, where Zverev was beaten by Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.
Since losing that final, Zverev has struggled to find form, causing much speculation over whether he can overcome that hurdle of winning a major.
The former world number three has now been asked the same question by Tennis Magazin, with Thiem revealing that he thinks that Zverev is too good not to win one.
Thiem also claimed that he does not think winning a Grand Slam is easier now that both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have retired.
“I hope Sascha wins a Grand Slam. I think his career is far too good without one,” said Thiem. “But even if he doesn’t make it, it’s still absolutely sensational. If he wins a Grand Slam, he’ll pretty much automatically become number one because he’s playing so consistently and so well.
“Everyone said that when the Big Three or the Big Four are gone, it will be easier because no one will come up. Now we have [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz. If they’re not injured or out for some other reason, you usually have to beat one or even both of them, and that’s really hard.
“I think Sinner and Alcaraz are probably just as hard to beat today as Federer or Djokovic were back then. And there are some other really good players like Taylor Fritz when he’s playing at a really high level, like at the US Open. Winning a Grand Slam isn’t any easier than it was five or ten years ago.”
While he has not been finding wins easy to come by in recent weeks, Zverev could be handed a boost with the clay season coming up.
Zverev believes Roland Garros is his best hope of winning a major, having reached the final last year.
The world number two will begin his European clay court swing as the top seed at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he will play either Matteo Berrettini or qualifier Mariano Navone in the second round.
Dominic Thiem says whether he misses being on the ATP Tour
Thiem has played one exhibition since his retirement in October last year, and has also been questioned over whether he misses the ATP Tour.
Despite being somewhat forced into retirement after wrist problems since 2021, Thiem has declared that he didn’t feel jealous of people that were in Australia in January.
“No, not at all. My brother was in Australia with a player from the academy who played in the juniors. I was glad I wasn’t in Australia,” said Thiem.
“I think that’s a good sign. I think if you quit and then think how much you would have loved to fly to Australia, it would definitely be the wrong decision. I’m actually glad I’m in Europe and experienced a cold December and January.”
Thiem finished his career with 17 career titles including the US Open, Indian Wells and his home tournament in Vienna.
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