French Open '19: 3 possible heirs to Rafael Nadal's throne

#1 Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem won Indian Wells Masters 2018

The 25-year-old professional tennis player from Austria is currently ranked fifth in the world and is one of the favorites to win this year's French Open.

Thiem's overall tennis career statistics does not exactly make him a world beater, but he is a different entity on clay. Not only has he won eight out of his 12 ATP titles on clay, but his only Grand Slam final appearance came at French Open last year.

Thiem has struggled to perform at the very best on other surfaces and only managed to reach quarterfinals at any other Grand Slam despite consistently playing great tennis in the French Open for the past three years. Two semi-final appearances in 2016 and 2017 were followed by reaching the final stage in 2018. And his recent Indian Wells Masters title triumph only strengthens his title chances at Roland Garros.

The big three of men's tennis also recognized his real potential and also commended him for the talent he owns.

In 2016, Djokovic praised Thiem after their pre-quarterfinal tie at Miami Masters,

"Dominic is one of the leaders of this generation, no question doubt about it. He’s already established himself as a Top 20 player the last couple years. He’s getting stronger and more confident.”

Nadal reacted to his five set win over Thiem in the quarterfinals of US Open 2018,

"Sorry for him. He’s a tough guy. He’s one of the best guys on tour. He always plays with — plays and practices with a great attitude and sad for him because when arrives this moment, he did all the things well to win the match. Me too, I think. I fight until the end, so it’s always was question of a little bit of luck at the end.”

The Indian Wells Masters 2019 ended with Federer being on the losing side and he then applauded Thiem's victory,

"It’s been a great week for me even though it didn’t work out. But what a week Dominic has had, many congratulations to him. Wonderful playing throughout the week. He deserves it.”

French Open 2019 will commence on May 20, and only time will tell if Nadal's supremacy at Roland Garros will have an extra page to it or if there will be a new prince.