After 'hurtful' loss at ATP Finals, Dominic Thiem wants to win his next Slam in 2021
World No. 3 Dominic Thiem suffered a loss to Daniil Medvedev in the title clash at the Nitto ATP Finals on Sunday, bringing his 2020 season to a disappointing end. But while Thiem was hurt by the defeat - his second consecutive one in the final of the season-ending event - he has set some lofty goals for 2021.
"Certainly this loss hurts," Thiem said in a new post on his website. "After 2019 I also lost my second Masters final, I hope I will succeed next time. Daniil won the trophy without losing a match, he really deserves this title."
Thiem has had a hectic post-lockdown season, and he is now looking forward to a small break before the start of his off-season training.
"Now it is time for vacation," the Austrian added. "For the next couple of days I will relax in Austria and then in two to three weeks I will start preparing for the next season."
Dominic Thiem believes he is well-positioned to make another push upwards in 2021. After getting the Slam monkey off his back at the US Open this year, the World No. 3 wants to add more to his collection next season.
"I have managed to get myself into a good starting position for the coming season, however, for Corona the start of the season is uncertain," Thiem said. "The goals are clear: I want to win my next Grand Slam and I want to play a part in the race for the number one position."
I can still be proud of a sensational final of the ATP season: Dominic Thiem
Despite the loss at the ATP Finals, Dominic Thiem stated that he was proud of his run at the O2 Arena where he scored wins over the two best players in the world - Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
"I can still be proud of a sensational final of the ATP-season: in the group matches I defeated Rafael Nadal, I beat Novak Djokovic, the current number one, in the semifinal. Since January 2019 my head-to-heads have been positive against the leaders of the game – this encourages me for 2021," Thiem said.
Dominic Thiem also thanked his team that accompanied him to London - which included coach Nicolas Massu, physio Alex Stober, manager Herwig Straka and brother Moritz.