ATP Finals Preview: Dominic Thiem

Eight stars will battle in London at the ATP Finals starting on November 12. Baseline will preview each contender ahead of all the action.

If only Dominic Thiem could play the the ATP Finals on clay in February. The Austrian has won eight titles in less than three years (six on clay), and he’s ranked a career-high No. 4 in the world. It’s his second consecutive appearance at London, and Thiem hopes for a breakthrough, but he's going in on a slide with a 2-5 record since the US Open.

2017 Record

48-25

Titles

1 (Rio de Janeiro)

Best Performance

Thiem hit his peak during the clay season in Rome and Paris. In the former, he dealt Rafael Nadal his only clay-court loss in the quarterfinals. In the French Open quarterfinals, he swept pastNovak Djokovic 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-0 before falling to Nadal in the semifinals.

Season Low

Only a 2-5 record since the US Open? It's the second straight year the 24-year-old Austrian has faded down the homestretch of the season. He prioritizes spring tennis on clay, but right now it’s quite fair to question if he can find his best form on fast hard courts.

Thiem and 20-year-old world No. 3 Alexander Zverev might really be the future of tennis, and Vogue took notice with a fashionable feature in late August.

In early September, Thiem summarized his rankings rise in a GQ feature: “I was never the person who came up with a boom somehow. I worked slowly and consistently, making my way up the rankings, so there wasn’t one special moment.”