For a while now, Dominic Thiem, 23, has been a constant presence inside the top 10 of men's singles tennis. A well-established player throughout the past few seasons or so, his best tennis seems to emerge while competing on a clay court. Still, he is only 23-year-old and has the time on his side. He is yet to improve his tennis output on faster surfaces like grass or hard. Currently ranked seventh in the world, he will make the first appearance on the North American hard swing as the No. 1 seed in Washington at City Open (ATP 500). This tournament managed to gather an entire herd of ATP tennis stars including three top 10 players with Thiem among them.
Thiem shares draw with Raonic, Monfils, and Jack Sock
As the top seed, Dominic Thiem leads the upper half of the draw. He received a bye in the opening round and will face Henri Laaksonen (96 ATP) in the round of 16. The upcoming clash will be the first between these two players. The winner of this match could face Kevin Anderson next. If he reaches the quarterfinals, Thiem may be on a collision course with Gael Monfils. The Frenchman is also trying to get some momentum under his belt after having a lack of success lately. Currently ranked 22nd in the world, Monfils remains a player who can produce some outstanding tennis. After all, he reached the semis at 2016 US Open where he lost to Djokovic in four sets.
The semis may put the young Austrian in a match-up over Milos Raonic or Jack Sock. The last two are sharing the second quarter of the draw, and it's likely to make an interesting quarter-final showdown.
Thiem should try to extend his dominance beyond the clay court
An excellent clay court player, Austria's No. 1 has to improve his record when it comes to other surfaces.
Regarding the upcoming US Open, his best result at Flushing Meadows is reaching the fourth round back in 2014 and 2016. The fourth round is the higher stages he has ever reached on a Grand Slam except for the french open ( semis in 2017 and 2017).
For Dominic Thiem, the upcoming weeks are crucial if he wants to gather some momentum entering the US Open.
Last year, he had little success before US Open. At Flushing Meadows, he was forced to withdraw in the fourth round handing a spot in the quarterfinals to Juan Martin del Potro. He has had a busy schedule in 2017 as he gathered 54 matches under his belt winning a single title in Rio (ATP 500). His best outcomes of the season include a final in Madrid and Barcelona and a second French Open semifinal in a row.
