You Think You’re a @ThiemDomi Fan? You’re Nothing Compared to this Kid.
Steve Fogleman in Washington

Since Dominic Thiem is the Citi Open top seed and the #7 player in the world, I thought it would be nice to show him with some fan interaction on his way to practice yesterday in Washington. This wasn’t a pre-match warmup, since he doesn’t even play until tomorrow night, but rather a routine hit. Then I noticed this kid.

They say Washington is a tough town. You can’t take no for an answer. And there was a kid with a red ball cap who put this town’s paparazzo to shame, as well as you grown-up Thiem fans.

Dominic and the Determined Kid

At twenty seconds into the video, the kid was shoved (or Thiem was shoved) out of the way as he tried to get an autograph from the 23-year-old Austrian.

But a little incidental contact meant nothing to this autograph hound.

The kid kept pace with Thiem and bypassed security guards, trying to get the player’s attention at least four times before personnel got him onto the locked court.

I wish I had a piece of Thiem autographed memorabilia because this kid deserves it. He was so tenacious it probably even scared Thiem a little bit. Remember, even if you’re young and hungry, there will always be someone younger and hungrier than you. And if you’re looking for truth in Washington, you’ve got to pursue it like a wolf.