Davis Cup: Dominic Thiem - "In the end it all depends on me"
After his defeat against Borna Gojo at the Davis Cup in Rijeka, Dominic Thiem was thoughtful in an interview with the Kronen Zeitung .
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Feb 05, 2023, 10:12 am
If you take a closer look at some posts on social networks after Dominic Thiem's defeat against Borna Gojo, you might get the idea that the Croatian only started playing tennis the day before yesterday. And that it would therefore be an absolute debacle that Thiem Gojo had to admit defeat in a tight two-set match. So here's the pertinent note: Borna Gojo may only be ranked 121 in the current world rankings. In the Davis Cup, the soon to be 25-year-old has beaten players like Lorenzo Sonego, Sebastian Baez and Dusan Lajovic in the last two years.
And now Dominic Thiem. From an Austrian point of view, this is unsatisfactory, because after the first day in Rijeka it was 2-0 for the hosts. And Dominic Thiem probably didn't open an extra bottle of Almdudler in the evening for sheer joy. Thiem needs game practice and success. At least the former he will get today against Borna Coric. When Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler keep Austria sportively alive in doubles.
Thiem's backhand is still unique
Thiem has nothing to blame for fighting. And if you watched a bit at the same time as the duel between the Germans and the Swiss and that of the backhand artists Stan Wawrinka and Daniel Altmaier, you have to realize: With his backhand longline, Dominic Thiem still has a weapon that is unique in the tennis circus is. So the punches are there. The legs too.
Which apparently only helps him to a limited extent at the moment, as Thiem explained in an interview with the Kronen Zeitung on Saturday evening. "In the end, it's mostly up to me, or just me. If there are too many outside voices, it's not good. I'm 29, I'll be 30 soon and it's the only chance that I'll be 100 percent willing to reach a top level again," explained Thiem when asked whether it would make sense to get additional help from outside fetch.
Regardless of the outcome of the game in Rijeka, the next few weeks could show how strong the fire in Dominic Thiem is still or is blazing again. At the clay court tournaments in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, the Lower Austrian appears as an outsider, so he can play carefree. And in places where he was already very successful.