My Masters 1000: Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem has already reached four quarter-finals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level, including last week at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The 23-year-old Austrian talks about his favourite tournament, city and what makes the Masters 1000 titles so difficult to win.

Which is your favourite Masters 1000 tournament?
Madrid. I beat my first Top 10 guy there (Stan Wawrinka). The food is prepared by an Austrian company. I know the guys there. They treat me really well, so it’s a tournament I look forward to every year.

Which is your favourite Masters 1000 host city?
Rome is a legendary city and the Italian food is the best in the world.

What do you like about Miami, host city of this week’s Miami Open presented by Itau?
Miami is an unbelievable city; it’s always a highlight to come here with many things to do. It’s such a traditional tournament and it’s always a pleasure to come here.

Can you remember your Masters 1000 debut?
It was in Indian Wells in 2014. It’s a very nice memory. I qualified and won two rounds, so immediately I liked to play the Masters 1000s.

What has been your favourite off-court activity at a Masters 1000?
Last year in Miami I went to Jungle Island, which was very nice. There are many animals and we could carry them around and play with them.

What has been your best Masters 1000 win?
When I beat Stan in Madrid in 2014. That was my first win over a Top 10 guy and it is still probably one of my best wins.

What is the toughest part about Masters 1000 tournaments?
It’s unbelievably tough. As you saw in Indian Wells the draw was a joke. From the second round there were only blockbuster matches. You have to be on fire from the first round and you have to beat only good guys to win the tournament. That’s why so few players have won one.