Dominic Thiem reveals untold Rafael Nadal French Open story

Dominic Thiem reached the Roland Garros final twice in his career, but both times he had to go through Rafael Nadal.

The Austrian made his first appearance in a major final at the 2018 French Open after getting past Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and Alexander Zverev.

Nadal ended up taking that match with a straight-sets win (6–4, 6–3, 6–2), claiming his 11th French Open title.

The next year, they met again in the final. This time Thiem managed to take a set before falling 6–3, 5–7, 6–1, 6–1.

Looking back on that second meeting while talking with Tennis Channel last year (quotes via Tennis-Infinity), Thiem shared something about what happened behind the scenes that day:

Dominic Thiem talks through what happened before the 2019 Roland Garros final

Speaking on the ‘More Than A Name’ podcast, Thiem said: “First of all, 2019, the second French Open final, I was really convinced that I could beat Rafa in the finals because I played a great tournament.

“I beat Novak in the semis in an epic semis, and then I was really convinced that I could beat Rafa, and that was also my mindset throughout the hours before the finals.

“But there’s quite a funny story, which I can tell now. I wouldn’t tell it as an active player, but now yes. So, I think like four or five weeks before, I played Rafa in the semis of Barcelona. And I was beating him four and four.

“I played really well, but not my best tennis, but I still beat him in two sets, which gave me a lot of confidence for the French Open.

“And then he went to warm up as usual. Afterward [the match], it was all about staying focused on my own game. That day of finals at Roland Garros started around 3pm again.

“When he came back into our locker room just after lunch time with those headphones already locked onto whatever playlist gets players tuned into matches — looking intensely dialled-in… Let’s say things didn’t feel quite like Spain anymore.”

Thiem opens up on how Nadal’s mindset changed at Roland Garros

Nadal’s record at Roland Garros is unmatched, with 14 titles to his name – more than any other player has achieved at a single Grand Slam.

Thiem, who fell to Nadal in back-to-back finals, believes the Spaniard approached the French Open differently from every other tournament on the calendar.

He said: “So I think, once he came to the French Open, he had a different mindset than all the other tournaments. And yeah, I was still convinced, obviously, that I’m playing so well and that I could beat him.

“But the level he played in the 2019 finals was ridiculously high. And yeah, there he showed that I think when he’s playing at his best, he’s invincible in Roland Garros.”

Read more: