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Lacking rhythm and victory, Dominic Thiem went to Rijeka last week to play a Davis Cup match against Croatia. In difficulty, the Austrian did not manage to qualify his country for the group stage by losing his two singles matches against Borna Gojo and Borna Coric. On the sidelines of the match, the former world No. 3 spoke about Novak Djokovic’s 22nd major title in Melbourne and the race for the GOAT, the best player of all time. Beaten twice in the final at the 2018 and 2019 French Open as well as in the 2020 Australian Open final against Nole, the 2020 US Open winner believes that the GOAT title will be decided by their number of Grand Slams.
“At the time of the Australian Open final, I was at the top of my game, physically and tennis-wise,” he told Croatian television Nova TV. “And I still lost in five sets to Novak. I almost couldn’t have played better and I still lost. That means everything. With Rafa in Paris in 2019, I was playing very well too. Not as good as in Australia, but my level was high. But these two are almost invincible in their favorite tournaments. I’m not very surprised by Djokovic because I feel like he’s still young. Physically, mentally and the way he moves on the court, it’s like he’s 25 years old. Let’s be honest, he’s the best, so his win is not very surprising. In my opinion, the Grand Slam titles should be the deciding factor in determining the best of all time, because those are the four biggest tournaments in the world. Everything else is good, but it’s not the same. It’s the Grand Slams that count, so the GOAT will probably be the one with the most titles.”
