French Open 2020: Dominic Thiem on doing 'everything' to keep Roger Federer as number one

ByEurosport

Published 28/09/2020 at 08:15 GMT

US Open champion Dominic Thiem jokes he will do all he can to ensure Roger Federer remains the all-time record Grand Slam title holder - ahead of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal - at this year's French Open. Thiem won his first ever Grand Slam title in New York this year.

Dominic Thiem.

Image credit: Getty Images

Roger Federer has an unlikely ally in his bid to remain the all-time record Grand Slam title holder - fellow professional Dominic Thiem.

US Open champion Thiem is one of the frontrunners to win the French Open in Paris this year with Federer absent from the tour until January 2021, but the 27-year-old faces stiff competition from Nadal - who has won more Roland Garros men's singles titles than any other player (12) - and world number one Djokovic.

With Nadal (19) and Djokovic (17) both chasing Federer's record of 20 Slam titles, Thiem says he try and stop either player from lifting La Coupe des Mousquetaires this fortnight.

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"Roger Federer congratulated me on my US Open win," he told Swiss newspaper Blick.

"He congratulated me, wrote a long message, which made me very happy. We are also in regular contact. In the run-up to the US Open, we kept talking to each other on the phone, mainly because of the ATP stories.

"I'm very happy when Roger is back on tour. Everyone feels that way."

When asked if Federer wants him to stop Nadal and Djokovic from winning the Slam, the Austrian joked: "I promise, I will do everything so that Roger remains number one (smiles)."

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He added: "No other player can be compared to Roger, he‘s one of a kind, a much more aesthetically pleasing and elegant player than I am."

Thiem hopes his first ever Grand Slam win at Flushing Meadows can inspire some of the tour's younger players to repeat his feat.

"I hope I got a ball rolling," he said. "With [Alexander] Zverev, [Daniil] Medvedev and [Stefanos] Tsitsipas there are at least three candidates who can win a Grand Slam.

"It would be nice if I had started something now. I think the others are also happy that the spell is broken.

"You have now seen that it is possible. Before that, the big three were always in the way."