2018 ATP Preview: No. 5, Dominic Thiem

As a preview of 2018, Baseline is taking a look at all the Top 10 finishers from the ATP and WTA.

See No. 6 here.

5

Dominic Thiem used 2017 to firmly establish himself as an elite player, especially on clay.  He won the 500 title in Rio de Janeiro without dropping a set, and he made the finals of both Barcelona and Madrid, losing to Rafael Nadal.

Moment of the Year

In the quarterfinals of Rome, Thiem became the only player to beat Nadal on clay in 2017, ending the King's run at an eighth Italian Open title with a 6-4, 6-3 win.

He went on to make the semifinals of the French Open, where he fell to none other than Nadal.

Hot Shot of the Year

The Rome victory over Rafa included this wormhole-opening one-handed backhand.

Outlook for 2018

While Thiem won only 53 percent of his 2017 hard-court matches, he could easily be viewed as the second-favorite for the French Open next year, provided the other non-Nadal top players don't make any drastic improvements. And, at 24, he could be ripe for a breakthrough on the other surfaces as well.

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