Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are the absolute favorites in Paris, says Dominic Thiem

The last couple of years, Dominic Thiem has been viewed as a strong contender at the hard and claycourt Majors. Now following his victory at the US Open, Thiem looks to have cemented his position as biggest challenger to the 'Big 3' or Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for Grand Slam titles.

The Austrian prefers playing on clay, as 10 of his 17 career titles have come on this surface. He has also been runner-up twice to Rafael Nadal at the French Open.

But Thiem, who has chosen not to play any clay court tournaments in preparation for Roland Garros this year, still believes that Nadal and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will be the favorites for the upcoming French Open.

"Nadal and Djokovic are the absolute favourites in Paris," said Thiem in an interview with "Bild am Sonntag. "He (Nadal) did not travel to New York and has trained on clay during this time. And he's the best player of all time on clay."

23 wins in a row at Roland-Garros…@RafaelNadal wins his 12th title in Paris 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 over Dominic Thiem.🎾 https://t.co/uLebPf6COb#RG19 pic.twitter.com/yEoAq1ghdE

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2019

Dominic Thiem also spoke about his prize money earnings, and whether they will have an effect on his choice of residence.

For his victory at the US Open, Thiem earned $3 million, taking his total career prize money to almost $27 million. His off-court earnings are likely to increase further as well.

While many other tennis players and athletes have shifted their base to tax havens like Monaco to reduce taxes on their earnings, Thiem doesn't have plans to do the same.

Dominic Thiem won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open

"I don't like the thought that I would have to go to Monaco after a long series of tournaments. Simply because I don't like it there. You have to say that the tax rate for top athletes in this country (Austria) is fair", Thiem said.

Have not heard from former coach Thomas Muster following US Open win: Dominic Thiem

Thiem Team + 1️⃣Hear what @ThiemDomi thinks about new coaching addition Thomas Muster.#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/tMlottYJfJ

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2020

Dominic Thiem also revealed in another interview that he had not heard from former coach Thomas Muster after his US Open win. But the 27-year-old said he was not surprised since he knows that the former World No. 1 is not the type of person who communicates much through mobile phones.

Muster, the 1995 French Open champion, had joined Thiem's camp as a coach in January. However, the two stopped working together after just a couple of weeks.

Thomas Muster as the captain of the Austrian team at the ATP Cup in January along with Dominic Thiem, Dennis Novak, Jurgen Melzer, Oliver Marach and Sebastian Ofner

"No, he hasn't yet. But he's not that kind of cellphone (person) either. It was an interesting collaboration with Thomas, but we're two different characters. It just didn't fit, but it was worth a try. It was logical to give it a try, because up to now he was the only Austrian who knew the feeling of winning a Grand Slam tournament," Dominic Thiem said.