Austria’s Dominic Thiem praised the greatness of the Big Group group after losing the Australian Open final as he remains hopeful that he will soon find a way to win his maiden Grand Slam title. Thiem, 26, fell just short of winning his first Major at Melbourne Park as second-seeded Novak Djokovic came from two sets to one down to beat the Austrian 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 for his record eighth Australian Open title.
The Big Three group — consisting of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — have been absolutely dominant at the Grand Slams for the past several years as there hasn’t a Grand Slam champion outside the group since Stan Wawrinka won the 2016 US Open title.
“These guys (Djokovic, Nadal and Federer) brought tennis to a complete new level… So probably they also brought me to a much better level,” Thiem told reporters after losing the Australian Open final. “For sure, it was easier in a different era to win big titles, that’s 100 percent…
But I’m happy that I can compete with this guys on the best level and I also hope that I will win my maiden Grand Slam while they are still around because it just counts more.”
