3 men who could make their Grand Slam breakthrough in 2020

Modified Jan 09, 2020 16:00 GMT

#1 Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem has had most of his success on clay, as evidenced by his 10 titles won on the surface compared to a combined haul of 6 titles on the two other surfaces (hard-5, grass-1). But the Austrian has started making his mark outside clay too.

Thiem came within two points of beating defending champion Rafael Nadal in the 2018 US Open quarterfinals, and was a tiebreak away from his biggest hardcourt title at the season-ending 2019 ATP Finals against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

2019 was a banner season for Thiem, as he became the 67th different Masters 1000 winner after beating 5-time champion Roger Federer in a three-set final at Indian Wells. Fast forward to the clay stretch of the season, and Thiem became the first player after Robin Soderling (2009-10) to make back-to-back Roland Garros finals.

In being thwarted by Nadal in a four-set title match, Thiem became only the 11th player in the Open Era to lose multiple Grand Slam finals without winning one.

The Austrian has reached at least the semifinals in each of his last 4 appearances in Paris, losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2016 semis and to Nadal on every other occasion (2017 semis, 2018-19 final). If Nadal fails to lift a staggering 13th Roland Garros title in 2020, Thiem would be the one most favored to become the newest Grand Slam winner at the claycourt Major.

Despite his improved form outside clay, Thiem's best outing in his 20 non-clay Grand Slam appearances has been a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open. Though the Austrian would be a force to be reckoned with at all the Grand Slam tournaments in 2020, his best chance of a breakthrough appears to be at the claycourt bastion of Nadal.

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 18 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Musab Abid