On Sunday, Novak Djokovic came from two sets to one down to break Dominic Thiem’s heart as the Serbian captured his eighth Australian Open title in the glittering finale.

While the headlines belonged to Djokovic and his indefatigable nature, the relentlessness of his performance leading to many speculating that he will end his career as the greatest tennis player of all time, the cameras were turned away from Thiem, which is surely the point.

Can Dominic Thiem ever step into the limelight as a winner, or is he destined to miss out on the sport’s top prizes, the Grand Slam victories which so far elude him?

No-one except Rafael Nadal, world number one Djokovic and Roger Federer have won a Grand Slam title in the last three seasons, and while many are speculating that this year will be the year that run ends, they are doing so when talking about the emergence of younger talents such as Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas who at 23, 22 and 21 respectively, are an exciting trio of youthful protégés waiting to take over from the old guard.