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BELGRADE, SERBIA – JUNE 12: Dominic Thiem (L) of Austria and Novak Djokovic (R) of Serbia smile during an exhibition double match of the Adria Tour charity exhibition hosted by Novak Djokovic, on June 12, 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
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BELGRADE, SERBIA – JUNE 12: Dominic Thiem (L) of Austria and Novak Djokovic (R) of Serbia smile during an exhibition double match of the Adria Tour charity exhibition hosted by Novak Djokovic, on June 12, 2020 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
After upsetting Rafael Nadal on his own turf and winning the Roland Garros title, world number one Novak Djokovic will enter Wimbledon Championships as the clear favorite.
Ahead of the third grand slam of the year, the Serb decided to play doubles at the grass-court event in Mallorca as he paired up with the Spanish player Carlos Gomez-Herrera.
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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – June 11, 2021 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his semi final match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
Watch this story: Drama at Wimbledon Championships Involving Nick Kyrgios, Dan Evans, Simona Halep, and Others
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The 19-time grand slam champion has already entered the venue in Mallorca and began practicing with fellow players. On Monday, it was the turn of Austrian Dominic Thiem to hit a few balls with the Serb.
Thiem, who is having a rough time with back-to-back defeats on the ATP tour, is looking forward to make his mark on the grass-court season. While the Austrian was expected to continue his winning momentum post first grand slam title at the US Open last year, Thiem couldn’t find the motivation needed to win titles and took a small break from tennis.
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Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates with championship trophy after winning in a tie-breaker during his Men’s Singles final match against Alexander Zverev of Germany on Day Fourteen of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic hit a few balls with Dominic Thiem at Mallorca
Even though grass isn’t his best surface, Thiem would like to have some success on Mallorca before heading into Wimbledon. The Austrian already announced his withdrawal from the Olympics to focus on improving his ranking points.
🤜 These two 🤛@DjokerNole | @ThiemDomi | #ATPMallorca pic.twitter.com/u0pxf8F37m
— Mallorca Championships (@MallorcaChamps) June 21, 2021
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Djokovic, on the other hand, looked determined to clinch the first golden slam of his career by winning all the four major titles including a gold medal at Tokyo Olympics.
But, the Serb might face stiff competition from Dominic Thiem on the hard-court season as the latter won two out of their last three encounters on indoor hard-courts.
At the Australian Open final last year, the Austrian was leading Djokovic by two sets to one and lost his way to a resilient comeback from the Serb. It was a brutal baseline battle in the final set before Djokovic dominated Dominic Thiem to win his 18th major title.
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Also read: The Downfall of Dominic Thiem: Has Winning the US Open 2020 Hurt Him?
