ATP Masters Madrid: Dominic Thiem - Get out of the negative vortex, into the tournament
Dominic Thiem will play his first match of this year's clay court season against Marcos Giron in Madrid this Tuesday (from 7:00 p.m. on the Tennisnet live ticker). Before his appearance in the Caja Magica, the Austrian spoke in an exclusive interview with ServusTV about his somewhat longer break, the preparations he had made and his big goal for the season.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: May 04, 2021, 10:56 am
If you believe Dominic Thiem's words, Austrian tennis fans shouldn't expect too much from their hero at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. It would be a "miracle" if he were already in top form in the Spanish capital, the world number four told ServusTV before the tournament started.
In any case, as so often in the recent past, Thiem was very open in this interview and spoke again about the difficult time at the beginning of the season: "With a bit of distance it is now completely logical. It was the US Open victory in which I was actually already over the limit. With all the euphoria, I continued to play in Vienna and London. Both physically and mentally, I was absolutely over the limit. "
Thiem in Australia with problems
"If that is the case, it is also clear that there will be a worse phase afterwards. That is exactly what crept in slowly during the preparation and in Australia itself I noticed that something was not quite right and that I was not at it normally as usual Of course, it dragged itself out for a while. As long as you play over the limit, it will take that time to get back to normal, "explained the 27-year-old.
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Such phases are normal in every person's life, and it was not the first time for him either. The only difference is that you would immediately see it in athletes based on poorer results. "If the results are not right at tournaments, you get into a negative vortex," said Thiem.
Physically in top shape
Based on his experience, however, he could get out of this negative vortex again. If possible, the reigning US Open champion should succeed in Madrid, where Thiem intervenes again in the tournament after a one and a half month break. Physically, he is in top shape again after overcoming knee problems, but training and competition are two completely different pairs of shoes.
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Overall, things are going well at Thiem: "I've trained really well again for the last two weeks and as soon as the fire and motivation were back, it went really fast physically and playfully. Of course, the first few days were really difficult, the whole My body hurt and I also played badly because the break was three to four weeks long. As soon as the first tough part was done, it went really, very quickly. "
French Open title as a big goal
But the event in Madrid, where Thiem meets Marcos Giron ( in the Tennisnet live ticker ) on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., is only a small intermediate step for the Lower Austrian on the way to his declared goal of the season, the French Open. The 27-year-old wants to be in top form again in Paris.
"I hope that I will perform in Paris as I did in previous years. (...) I want to give myself the chance to play for the title there," said Thiem. The second Grand Slam tournament of the year starts on May 30th. The world number four still has some time left to get the final touches.
Thiem vs. Giron from 7:00 p.m. in the live ticker
Here the single tableau in Madrid
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