Australian Open: Dominic Thiem can "hurt the absolute top people again"
Dominic Thiem was quite optimistic before his first round crack with Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open 2023. The Lower Austrian will need a top performance in lap one.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 16, 2023, 03:23 pm
Despite all the sporting insignificance of a preparatory tournament of the Kooyong Classic brand, this recent victory over Frances Tiafoe was an extremely important one for Dominic Thiem. It can be assumed. The Austrian, who previously suffered a bitter defeat in qualifying for the ATP 250 event in Adelaide against Soonwoo Kwon and also lost the first match at the exhibition event in Melbourne against Alex de Minaur, celebrated his first win in the calendar year 2023. And that against a man who has recently firmly established himself in the top 20.
Balm for the self-confidence of the US Open winner from 2020, which was so stricken by the crisis. And the Lower Austrian will also need this from minute one at the Australian Open 2023, after all, in round one Andrey Rublev is against a number five seeded player . In the head-to-head with the Russian, by the way a close confidant of Thiems on the ATP tour, the Austrian is 2: 4 behind, the last four meetings all went to Rublev - most recently in autumn of the previous year in Gijon.
Thiem with positive feelings
Nevertheless, the mood at Thiem, who of course spoke of a "difficult lot" at the start, is quite positive. "I feel able to hurt the absolute top people again. I also think that they don't particularly like playing against me," said the 29-year-old, who had reached the final at the Australian Open 2020 and only just beat Serial winner Novak Djokovic had to give up lost. In 2021, Thiem's last appearance Down Under, the Austrian failed in the round of 16.
In 2023, the 29-year-old - currently number 98 in the ATP world rankings - is only in the main draw thanks to a wildcard from the organizers. Thiem is also fully aware of this when classifying the draw: "It's a very unpleasant draw, of course. But I can't complain, I'm in the main competition with a wildcard. That means it was clear that anyone could come "said the former world number three. Since his wrist injury, Thiem has only made three semifinals at ATP level.
It is also this that is largely responsible for the fact that Thiem has not won at major level since the Australian Open 2021. At the French Open in 2021 and 2022 there was a defeat in round one, and the return to Flushing Meadows in 2022 did not go according to plan - the 29-year-old failed in four sets to Pablo Carreno Busta. Now, in Australia, Thiem would like to (finally) succeed again at major level. And along the way, defeating Frances TIafoe is certainly a not inconsiderable piece of the puzzle.
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