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Dominic Thiem began his climb to Slam level when he reached his first final in 2018, on the clay of Paris, at the Roland Garros. The former world number three explained about the final he lost at Roland Garros against Rafael Nadal: "The most important thing is to take the first step and reach the final for the first time.
I knew I could do it and I knew what it meant to play for so long in a tournament. That experience helped me reach two more Slam finals."
After that step, came another final in France in 2019, lost again to Nadal, and the final at the 2020 Australian Open lost to Novak Djokovic.
Following three defeats, success also came in 2020, at the US Open.
A particular tournament, still in the Covid pandemic, with masks and safety measures in force.
Thiem said to Eurosport, in the episode of Power of Sport: "That tournament was something special, an experience to have hoping that it will never be repeated again, we always played behind closed doors.
I improved game after game and the final was special. Against Sascha Zverev, that 7-6 in the fifth set. That match was a classic and from a sporting point of view it was the best moment of my career."
The environmental project
The Slam winner looks beyond tennis.
In particular, during the rehabilitation period from his wrist injury, he also began to deal with environmental protection: in particular, the protection of bees, in a project that sees him alongside Sebastian Vettel, former Scuderia Ferrari driver and four-time Formula 1 world champion.
Thiem explained: "Bees are very important, without them all other creatures would suffer, including humans. Bees are in danger because of man. In my own small way, I try to defend the bees by trying to increase their numbers."