Dominic Thiem hails his 'easy and funny' relationship with girlfriend Kristina

(Inset) Dominic Thiem and Kristina Mladenovic

Austrian tennis ace Dominic Thiem has said that there are many positives to have a fellow tennis player as girlfriend. Thiem, who has been dating Kristina 'Kiki' Mladenovic of France for almost a year, said having her at the French Open did a world of good to him.

Thiem, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the final, told French daily L'Equipe that Mladenovic provided him that extra support in Paris. "It can only be a good thing for me [having Mladenovic]. If you manage to create a good environment and put the Roland crowd behind me, it's everything for me," Thiem told French daily L'Equipe. When asked if their conversations at home revolve around tennis, he replied, "No, it's a normal relation. We speak about many other things in our daily life. But it's sure that it's easy and funny to speak about tennis together."

But there are topics that the couple differ on - like their favourite footballer of all time. For Mladenovic, Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is the best. However, Thiem disagrees. "I like Ronaldo, but I don't agree with Kiki [Mladenovic's nickname]. For me, it's Ronaldinho," said Thiem.

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