Dominic Thiem had higher hopes for one of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner after practicing with them both as teenagers.
Thiem retired from tennis in 2024, and never had the opportunity to play a match against either Alcaraz or Sinner.
However, the former US Open champion did practice with both Alcaraz and Sinner when they were 16 years old.
When reflecting on his experience of practicing with the two current dominant forces in men’s tennis, Thiem admitted one stood out more than the other.
Dominic Thiem says it was ‘completely obvious’ Carlos Alcaraz was always going to be amazing
Alcaraz won his first ATP match at 16 years old at the Rio Open in 2020, the tournament where Thiem was the top seed.
Thiem practiced with Alcaraz in Rio de Janeiro, and he has now revealed that it was ‘completely obvious’ that the Spaniard was going to be ‘amazing’.
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However, the Austrian has admitted that he did not have this same feeling when practicing with Sinner, despite Thiem admitting he knew the Italian was going to have a ‘really good career’.
“I was practicing with Carlos in Rio when he was 16 and it was completely obvious that this guy was going to be amazing, because he just had this specialty,” Thiem said on the BTA Podcast. “He was playing unbelievably fast, unbelievably heavy. I was in my peak back then and I had troubles with his ball, so it was completely obvious; with Jannik it was not the case.
“We players, we always look if somebody young is coming up. Jannik was I think always in Monte Carlo to practice with the guys, because his academy was close. We always talk about it and I think I practiced with him also when he was 16/17, obviously he was playing very well, he was playing very solid, but we couldn’t do a prediction.
“We knew this guy was going to have a really good career, but I didn’t know if he was going to be top 20, top 10 or if he is going to end up like he is now, a legend of the game and playing for every Grand Slam title, I was not sure. So that’s super interesting.”
Dominic Thiem explains why he thinks Jannik Sinner is so good now
Sinner, who is world number one again, has gone on to supersede Thiem’s predictions and is already a four-time Grand Slam champion at just 24 years old.
When asked about what makes Sinner so good now, Thiem pinpointed his movement as the most notable improvements since they practiced when he was a teenager.
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“His consistency. From a distance I would say he is a very consistent worker and he’s just so stable all around,” said Thiem. “What stands out right now, what you couldn’t see when he was 16/17 is the way he moves, it’s incredible.
“If you watch him live, he’s even more impressive and the way he goes to every ball, no matter the pressure situation you put him [in] he’s always there and puts himself in a normal situation where he can get a really difficult ball back, so that’s what’s standing out I would say.”
Sinner has already won four Grand Slam titles, and could make history at the French Open this year as just the 10th man in history to complete the Career Grand Slam.
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