Dominic Thiem picks French Open final against Nadal over Australian Open final against Djokovic for a rematch

Dominic Thiem has lost three Grand Slam finals, twice against Rafael Nadal at the French Open and once against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. However, if he were to have a rematch against one of the two legends in their backyards, the Austrian would like to face the Spaniard on clay.

Thiem has met Nadal at Roland Garros four times, with the latter winning on all four occasions. In the 2018 final, the Mallorcan beat Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, while the scoreboard read 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the 2019 title clash. Djokovic, on the other hand, defeated the 29-year-old 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the 2020 Australian Open final.

Casper Ruud was joined by Thiem for a discussion on Eurosport recently as the two players touched upon numerous topics. One segment saw the Norwegian ask the 2020 US Open champion a few fan-sent questions.

"How did the challenge of playing Nadal in a Roland Garros final compare to the challenge of playing Djokovic in the Australian Open final and if you could have a rematch, who would you choose?" Ruud asked.

Without much hesitation, the World No. 102 picked the 2019 final against the Spaniard at Philippe Chatrier. He stated that the French Open is the tournament that he loves the most as he is comfortable on clay.

"They are both their most successful tournaments by far but if I could choose one rematch, I would still choose the 2019 French Open final, maybe with a slightly different preparation, with all the rain delays. I played four days in a row before the final," Thiem said."

"And then I would do some different things, especially after that second set. There are just some things coming to my mind and it's clay, it's a tournament maybe I love the most and I've played my best tennis in. Yeah, probably I would choose this one," he added.

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"Djokovic will be the man to beat in the Grand Slams in 2023" - Dominic Thiem

Novak Djokovic (L) and Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem believes that after winning the 2023 Australian Open, Novak Djokovic will be the favorite at Wimbledon and the US Open. As far as Roland Garros is concerned, the Austrian remarked that Rafael Nadal could win his 15th title, given he's fit.

“For the whole tennis world, it would be nice to see one last showdown in Roland-Garros, obviously, but Novak will still be the man to beat in the Grand Slams in 2023," Dominic Thiem said. "The only tournament is Roland-Garros, if Rafael is fit there, it's exactly the opposite. He's the man to beat, obviously, when he won the tournament 14 times, it's crazy."

“But if you see the performance of Novak at the Australian Open, which was incredible, he's going to be probably the favourite at Wimbledon and the US Open as well," he added.

Thiem recently crashed out of the BNP Paribas Open after suffering a first-round loss to Adrian Mannarino.