Dominic Thiem has described his two French Open finals against Rafael Nadal as deeply unsettling, saying he recognised he would not win those matches. The Austrian, who retired at the ATP 500 event in Austria in 2024 after more than three years of wrist pain, reached a career-high ranking of world No 3 and won his sole Grand Slam title at the 2020 US Open, beating Alexander Zverev.

Thiem recalled how confronting Nadal at Roland Garros created a weighty atmosphere. “If you are an opponent against Rafa in the French Open final, like the tournament doesn’t make it easy,” he said. “You go on the centre court, you do the warm-up before the match, and then the speaker is introducing you. He says, yeah, like 9 ATP titles, and the crowd is applauding.

“And then he starts to introduce Rafa. Winner of the French Open 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008… and the crowd is going crazy.

“Then starts 10, 11, 12, 13. And you’ve already lost the match. It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced.”

Thiem first reached the French Open final in 2018 after surrendering only three sets en route, having beaten second seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals and Nadal in straight sets at the Madrid Open four weeks before. He admitted the final was affected by his condition on the day. “First of all, I was happy to be in the final, then I was physically not 100% anymore,” added Thiem. He lost that match 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

A year later he returned to the final following a Barcelona victory over Nadal and a five-set semi-final against Novak Djokovic. “I really was convinced that I was able to win the finals, to win the French Open,” admitted Thiem. “I didn’t see myself as an underdog, I saw it as a 50-50 match, and I played really well. But it was so impressive how he was raising his level; it was just unbelievable. Kudos to him.” Nadal prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.

Thiem also reflected on spotting Carlos Alcaraz’s talent as a teenager. “I was practising with Carlos when he was 15 or 16 in Rio De Janeiro, and he was very skinny back then, but the practice was so intense,” he said. “I was talking to my coach after, and we were saying this guy is going to be amazing, 100%.

“Maybe yes, maybe no. Luckily, he became one, but it’s very different.

“Sometimes you can see it and it’s so obvious, like I think with Rafa and with Carlos. And then there are players who are developing a bit later, where you cannot see it.”

Novak Djokovic has framed his approach to the 2025 US Open semi-final with a mixture of realism and confidence. The Serb arrives at the last four of the year’s final Grand Slam determined to upset expectations and to prove he can still beat the game’s top young players.

Djokovic is set to face Carlos Alcaraz for a place in the final. He has reached the semi-finals at all of this season’s Grand Slams but has not converted those runs into titles at that level, and he has not won an event above ATP 250 in 2025. Still, he insisted his level remains capable of matching the best.

“When I’m in shape and capable of playing my best tennis, I still believe I can beat both Alcaraz and Sinner,” stated the former world No 1, during an interview with SportKlub . “The most dangerous part is that I need to make a great effort, work very hard, and push my body to its limits to have the chance to face them.

“It’s a bit of an unfair battle because their youth and current superiority allow them to arrive in full condition, while I already have half an empty tank.

“That’s biology.”

The season has paid out a mixed ledger. Djokovic has struggled repeatedly against Jannik Sinner, losing his five most recent matches to the Italian and taking just two sets in those meetings. At Wimbledon he was beaten 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, and four weeks earlier he fell 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) at the French Open. Against Alcaraz he has had more recent success, including a four-set quarter-final victory at this season’s Australian Open, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. His hard-court record versus Alcaraz stands favourably in the head-to-head.

“One could say that it benefits me to play against Carlos in the semi-finals rather than against Jannik, at least, that’s what the latest results suggest,” he added. “In any case, in Australia and London, I arrived injured at the semi-final match and not now. Each match is a different story.

“I know Alcaraz is the favourite, playing at an impressive level, but I hope to raise my game. These matches are what keep me competing.

“It’s exciting to have the opportunity to beat the best currently.”

After beating Taylor Fritz in four sets in the quarter-finals, Djokovic was equally candid about the tournament picture: “We don’t need to spend words about two of them,” he commented, during his post-match press conference. “You know, we know that they’re two best players in the world. Everybody’s probably expecting and anticipating the finals between two of them. “I’m going to try to, you know, mess up the plans of most of the people and let’s see, you know, Sinner still has to win a couple of matches to get to the finals, but they are playing definitely the best tennis of any player here.

“They’ve been the dominant force since the beginning of the tournament, but, you know, I definitely am not going with the white flag on the court.

“I don’t think anybody does, really, when they play them, but particularly not me.

“I put myself in another semi-final of a Grand Slam this year.

“I’ve been very consistent, mostly consistent on the Slams this season, and that’s what I said at the beginning of the year, where I would like to perform my best tennis and make the best results.”

Rick Macci has weighed in on whether Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are operating at a level comparable to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in their primes. Macci, who has coached five players who became world No 1, argues the current duo belong in that conversation.

Since the start of 2024, Sinner and Alcaraz have emerged as the Tour’s dominant forces, meeting in the finals at Cincinnati, Wimbledon, the French Open and the Italian Open. They have also taken seven of the last seven Grand Slam titles between them, with Sinner winning four and Alcaraz three. Alcaraz has not lost to anyone other than Sinner since his April defeat to Holger Rune in Barcelona, and Sinner’s only loss to a non-Alcaraz opponent since August 2024 came against Alexander Bublik in Halle.

Asked whether the two young stars measure up to the peak of the sport’s greats, Macci did not hesitate: “Absolutely, I think you could even put [Pete] Sampras in there,” said Macci, who has coached five players who became world No 1.

“You know, I would put Sinner and Alcaraz, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Sampras… I think, all things being equal – technology, rackets, the string. Absolutely.

“Here’s why: tennis is a game of inches from one era to another and the mental part, playing the big points, delivering the goods and getting your serve in on an AD-point.

“These are microscopic things that happen in a tennis match and I’m just a firm believer of their technical base and their movement base – the guys I just mentioned – was so good and their athletic base was so good. But mentally, they were a cut above, that’s why they won all those Grand Slams.

“So yeah, that would be a street fight like no other if you had all those guys in. Now when you start throwing… you go back farther and you start talking about players, it’s hard for me to even go there because they hit the ball very differently. Whether it be [Jimmy] Connors, [John] McEnroe, [Bjorn] Borg — you can’t even go down that.

“I could maybe even throw [Andre] Agassi into this mix, you never know. But I wouldn’t go too far back. But 100%, because they have it between the ears, champions know how to deliver at crunch time.”

Djokovic, Nadal and Federer remain the three men with the most Grand Slam titles in history, on 24, 22 and 20 respectively. Alcaraz has five majors and Sinner four.