Dominic Thiem: "Experience the quietest time of my life"
In an interview with the Krone, Dominic Thiem talks about his everyday life during the tennis break and tells how much he is passionate about continuing the tour.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 11, 2020, 04:43 pm
Dominic Thiem was actually facing one of the greatest challenges of his career. The Lichtenwörther should have defended his biggest title so far in Indian Wells in early March. As is well known, nothing came of this, the day before the start of the qualification, the organizers had to announce the cancellation of the ATP Masters 1000 event. The corona virus was too great a health risk, it was said at the time. While the decision was still difficult to understand at this point in time, it soon became clear how forward-looking the organizers had been in California : days later, Miami was canceled, the entire clay court season, then Wimbledon and the postponement of the French Open. However, it is uncertain when there will be competition tennis again.
A situation that is also anything but easy for the players, as Dominic Thiem explains in an interview with the Krone: "You are 100 percent physically fit, feel ready, but do not know when it will start again. We start according to the plan again in the middle of July. Hopefully everything will be fine. I miss the challenges, the comparison battle, "said the third in the world rankings. Initially, the Lichtenwörther used the break to perform activities for which there would simply be no place during normal tournament operations. Austria's number one confirmed at "Kasi live" ( tennisnetnews on Instagram ) that they are now increasingly to be found in the Playstation online world, that they have actually fallen for FIFA games.
Thiem: "Not even stress as a teenager"
"I'm definitely experiencing the quietest time of my life. No structured training, no pressure, no flying around. And no sporting tasks. Even when I was a teenager, I had so little stress," continued Dominic Thiem. There is no such long pause in the ATP tour calendar. But the training options are currently very limited, the exit restrictions in Austria do not stop at the tennis courts or the tennis professionals: "I'm actually only at home, keep myself a bit fit with fitness. There is none at the moment head falls, I go for a walk or a walk. "
Dominic Thiem believes that he has recognized the beauty of Austria. The country is "a paradise" and the population is extremely disciplined. According to Thiem, the virus is taken extremely seriously, and the measures are well followed. This is "impressive" for the triple Grand Slam finalist. Like Dominic Thiem, almost all other tennis professionals are currently doing so, although a few players at least have the opportunity to enter the court. With regard to the world rankings, however, there was no major disadvantage for Thiem, the points were frozen - the title defense in Indian Wells was only postponed by a year.