Dominic Thiem says that younger players like himself and Rome champion Alexander Zverev have a legitimate chance to go very deep at the French Open.
The 23-year-old Austrian, who defeated Rafael Nadal in Rome, still said that the Spaniard is "100 percent he's the favorite."
Thiem is ranked No. 7, and the 20-year-old Zverev just broke into the Top 10 by defeating Novak Djokovic in the Rome final.
“It would be very nice to break into the Top 5 together with [Zverev]. It would be amazing, but Rafa is the big favorite,” Thiem said. “Novak is coming, for sure behind him. And then [Andy] Murray, you never know. He's such a big player.
"And after these three I think there are some players who can go very deep here who can make big surprises and to these players I count [Zverev] and myself.”
While veteran players in the draw like Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic and Juan Martin Del Potro have all won majors, no one born in the 1990s has yet to capture a Slam.
“I think normal that they are still so good with a little bit older age, but I wouldn't say that the younger players, they didn't make it. There is [Raonic] or [Nishikori] that have been in the Top 10 for a very long time," said Thiem. "Everybody should know how tough it is. Because they didn't win a Slam yet it doesn't mean that they didn't make it, because obviously the Big 4 are so strong that it's in this period really tough to win a big title.”
Thiem opens his Roland Garros campaign against Bernard Tomic on Sunday, while Zverev will play Fernando Verdasco on Monday.