The 2020 Dominic Thiem tennis season saw the Austrian tennis player win 25 matches with 9 losses, earning over six million dollars in prize money, and recording his first Grand Slam title at the 2020 US Open. He began the season ranked fourth on the ATP Tour, and finished the season ranked third.
Yearly summary
Early hard court season
ATP Cup
Thiem started his 2020 season at the ATP Cup as a part of the Austrian squad. He played alongside Dennis Novak, Sebastian Ofner, Jürgen Melzer, and his doubles partner Oliver Marach. Thomas Muster was captain. In his first match, Thiem lost to Borna Ćorić in three tight sets. Team Austria lost their match 0-3 against Team Croatia. Thiem won his second match over Argentine Diego Schwartzman in straight sets. Team Austria needed to defeat Team Poland to advance to the quarterfinals. Dennis Novak lost the first match, and Thiem needed a win against Hubert Hurkacz to keep their hopes alive. He lost the match in three sets, and Team Austria was eliminated.
Australian Open
Before the Australian Open began, Thiem participated in AO Rally for Relief, a fundraising exhibition to help victims of the bushfires in Australia. He was a part of Team Serena Williams alongside Petra Kvitova, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal. The fundraising effort brought in almost five million dollars.
Thiem was seeded fifth for the main draw. He beat Adrian Mannarino in the first round in three sets, and won his second round match over wildcard player Alex Bolt in five sets. In the third round he beat Taylor Fritz in four sets, and in round four defeated Gaël Monfils in three straight sets to reach his first Australian Open quarterfinal. In the quarterfinal, Thiem met the top seed and number one player in the world, Rafael Nadal, and won this match in four tight sets 7–6(7-3), 7–6(7-4), 4–6, 7–6(8-6). In the semifinals Thiem faced Alexander Zverev. After a poor start, Thiem recovered and won the match in four sets, reaching his third Grand Slam final. In the final he met seven-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. After Thiem lost the opening set, he won sets two and three. Djokovic won the fourth set to send the match to a decisive fifth set. An early break for Djokovic and almost perfect serving games decided the match and Djokovic successfully defended his title, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
American Swing
Rio de Janeiro
Thiem's next tournament was on the clay court surfaces at the Rio Open. After a three set win over Felipe Meligeni Alves and a win over the Spaniard Jaume Munar, he lost in the quarterfinals to qualifier Gianluca Mager in straight sets. Thiem withdrew from the Mexican Open in Acapulco and prepared to defend his ATP Masters title in Indian Wells, California.
On 2 March, he was third overall in the ATP rankings.
Season hiatus
On March 8, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season went on hiatus for several months. The following measures were taken:
The ATP and WTA announced the suspension of their 2020 tournaments until August 16. On March 18, the ATP froze their player rankings. On 17 March, the French Tennis Federation announced the decision to postpone the French Open, to be held now from 27 September to 11 October 2020. On 24 March after talks between Japan's prime minister and the International Olympic Committee president, the 2020 Summer Olympics were officially postponed to 2021. On 30 March the various organising entities reached an agreement to hold the Olympics between 23 July and 8 August 2021. On 1 April the All England Club announced the decision of cancelling Wimbledon, opting to focus on the 2021 edition of the tournament.
American outdoor hardcourt season
Cincinnati Masters
After being on hiatus for five months due to COVID-19, the ATP tour resumed play in August with the Cincinnati Masters, although this year it would be played in New York.
Thiem was seeded second in the draw and had a bye for the first round. He lost in the second round to Filip Krajinović, 6-2, 6-1.