In a year primarily defined by great performances by veterans, the biggest exception was Dominic Thiem. While most of the other young guns on the tour picked up the odd win here or there to start to put their name on the name, only Thiem was tussling with the big boys. The 22/23-year-old Austrian (he turned 23 in September) scored some big wins, a bunch of titles, and established himself as the clear heir apparent to the veterans that currently dominate the ATP World Tour.

Win-Loss

Thiem went 58-24 in 2016, winning the same number of matches as he had in the previous two seasons combined. His 58 match wins had him tied for third on the ATP World Tour with Kei Nishikori, trailing only the top two players in the world, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. The young Austrian more than doubled his career finals and titles, reaching six finals in 2016, winning four of them. After reaching a career-high ranking of number seven in June, he would finish the year as the youngest member of the top ten at a career-best finish of number eight in the world, up 12 spots from 2015.

High Points

Thiem announced himself to the tennis world in a big way in the month of February. In that month, he went 15-1, claiming titles in Buenos Aires and Acapulco, as well as reaching the semifinals of Rio and winning a pair of Davis Cup rubbers. Most notably during that period, he upset the King of Clay on his best surface, stunning Rafael Nadal on his way to the title in Buenos Aires.

Thiem celebrates his upset win over Rafael Nadal in Buenos Aires. Photo: Argentina Open
Thiem celebrates his upset win over Rafael Nadal in Buenos Aires. Photo: Argentina Open

His second hot streak came in mid-May when he reached four straight semifinals, including the French Open. That run included another title, this time on grass in Stuttgart. That title run also saw him claim the scalp of a legend on their best surface, as he pulled off a comeback win over Roger Federer in the semifinals. It was his second victory in a month over the Swiss Maestro, having previously beaten him on clay in Rome. In between those victories, Thiem had the best run of his career at a major, reaching the semifinals of the French Open.

Low Points

After his run in the late spring, Thiem cooled off dramatically. After reaching the semifinals in Halle, where he lost to a player outside the top 100, he would go 2-4 (not including a walkover he received in Cincinnati) over his next four events, losing in the second round of Wimbledon, first rounds of Kitzbuhel and Toronto.

After reaching the round of sixteen at the US Open and the final in Metz, he began to struggle again, going 3-6 down the stretch after that finals run in France. Physical struggles and exhaustion seemed to be bothering the Austrian in the second half of the season. Twice he was forced to retire in big tournaments, at the Rogers Cup and US Open.

Best Results

Thiem poses with his Acapulco trophy. Photo: ATP World Tour
Thiem poses with his Acapulco trophy. Photo: ATP World Tour

Thiem won four titles in 2016, three at the 250-level in Buenos Aires, Nice, and Stuttgart, along with a 500-level event in Acapulco. Thiem was one of two men, the other being Andy Murray, who won titles on all three surfaces in 2016, having won on hard courts (Acapulco), clay (Buenos Aires and Nice), and grass (Stuttgart). He was also the runner-up in Munich and Metz. He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic, and reached a pair of Masters 1000 quarterfinals in Rome and Cincinnati. He also qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals.

Worst Results

Despite his great results, Thiem had a lot of bad ones. For each of his six finals, he had an opening round loss to match. He lost his opening match six times in 2016: Sydney (to Gilles Muller), Madrid (to Juan Martin del Potro), Kitzbuhel (to Jurgen Melzer), Toronto (to Kevin Anderson), Beijing (to rival Alexander Zverev) and Paris (to Jack Sock).

He lost four matches to opponents outside the top 100, including 421st ranked Melzer on home soil in Austria, and two losses to Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentinian was ranked 274th during their Madrid clash, and 142nd when he took out Thiem at the US Open. He also lost back-to-back grass-court meetings with Florian Mayer, in the semifinals of Halle and second round of the US Open. During the first meeting, Mayer was ranked 192nd.

Grade: A-

While he may not have really contended for any big titles, Thiem established himself as a consistent player on the tour in 2016, scoring some big wins over legendary opponents, while also showing an ability to win on all surfaces. With perhaps some better handling of his schedule, Thiem showed in 2016 that he could be a threat for years to come. 

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About the author
Pete Borkowski
Tennis has always been my obsession. What better way to channel that obsession than writing about it? After 18 months of blogging with Sportsblog.com as the writer of A Fan Obsesseds blog, all the while completing my Bachelors in history and French, I joined VAVEL so that I can better share my love and knowledge of tennis with the world.