When Dominic Thiem shared the court with Roger Federer: Wimbledon’s unforgettable moment

Back in 2010 and 2011, Thiem was a junior at Wimbledon and had the chance to practice with Federer for the first time.

The pair have a close relationship now, and after Thiem retired from tennis in 2024, Federer reached out to send him a message.

Thiem first practised with Federer when he was still a junior at Wimbledon, long before he joined the main tour. Now, years later, he’s shared what it was like stepping onto the court with someone already considered one of the greats.

While Federer was a huge influence on many players from that era, there were others who also left their mark on Thiem’s game. One name that often comes up is Stan Wawrinka.

The similarities between them are easy to spot: both have powerful backhands and rely heavily on their strength from deep in rallies. Thiem has spoken about how much he respected Wawrinka’s game growing up.

Dominic Thiem admits he felt ‘intimidated’ practising with Roger Federer for the first time

Thiem appeared on the BTA Podcast and was asked about his experiences of playing against the ‘Big Four’ of Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.

The 2020 US Open winner shared how nervous he felt practising with Federer for the first time before speaking about his first match against one of the Big Four when he played Andy Murray in Rotterdam.

“Totally intimidated…The first time I played with Roger I was a junior at Wimbledon and I warmed him up, and my racket was like 100 kilos, I was so nervous!” exclaimed Thiem.

“Of course it’s maybe even worse when I played them for the first time. The first was actually Murray, I loved how he played and he was a big role model to me, and just a few years before I watched him on TV and then I am playing against him in Rotterdam.”

Thiem then spoke about how hard it can be to feel comfortable facing these big names early on. He explained that it took several matches before he started to feel like he belonged.

“100% yeah, it was crazy. The big three they had such a big aura it was crazy, when you stand next to them before you walk on court, it felt like they’ve already beat me,” added Thiem.

“I don’t need to go out there, I want to go back to the TV and watch them from the TV! So that’s how the first matches against them felt and then slowly I got used to it.”

Dominic Thiem’s record against the Big Four

Although he said he was nervous practising with Federer at first, Thiem actually finished his career with a winning record against the Swiss star. He went 5-2 over seven matches.

But against Nadal, it was a different story. Thiem won only six of their 16 meetings and lost four times to him at Roland-Garros, including twice in the final.

One of Thiem’s most memorable wins came at Indian Wells in 2019, where he came back from a set down to beat Federer in the final. Looking back on that match, Thiem said he already felt like he belonged at that level by then.

“I already knew that I belonged to this level back then, I was 25,” said Thiem. “Still it was a big chance, I really wanted that title and the first set I remember he was really toying with me, he was playing at his highest level.

“But still, believing in it and somehow I turned it around. Back then, I already had the belief that I could beat anybody on any day, so that was also the mindset into that match.”

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