Dominic Thiem: "Maybe I would never have recovered from it"
Dominic Thiem returned to Austria on Tuesday. The newly crowned US Open winner was exhausted but happy at a media event in Vienna. He now needs a few days off, after a week he will start training with a view to the French Open.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Sep 15, 2020, 03:38 pm
"Physically, I will certainly recover quickly. It takes two or three days," said Thiem. "How it will be mentally, I can not yet assess. For many years, a Grand Slam title was every day that I was on the pitch, a long-term goal. I do not expect and hope no great void."
With a spectacular comeback in the final in New York, he defeated Zverev after more than four hours in the tie-break of the fifth set. "At 0-2, the thought that it would not work was stronger than that that it would work. But a Grand Slam final was a huge opportunity, I wanted to at least fight for every point. Fortunately, I played myself in the third set free."
Thiem physically carefree
Before that, Thiem had already been in a major final three times, and he had lost all three finals. "With this record, it wasn't easy to go into the match. The defeat in Australia in particular was really painful. I had the feeling that I was close there. I don't even want to imagine what would have been had it happened Now it didn't work again. A 3-0 defeat in sets would have been easier to deal with than losing in the tie-break. Maybe I would never have recovered from it in my career. "
In the closing stages of the game he was plagued by cramps and a slight injury to his Achilles tendon from the semifinals gave him trouble. "The thigh was good again a few hours after the match," said Thiem. "The Achilles tendon should be 100 percent healed by Paris at the latest. I want to take advantage of the tailwind from the US Open title."
He will reflect on the trip to New York in the next few days. The 27-year-old noted that the French Open will soon be the next Grand Slam. "I expect myself to be more relaxed about the big tournaments."
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Thiem's timetable for the French Open
Regeneration is on the agenda for the next few days, on the weekend he will start training on sand and on Wednesday he will fly to Paris. "The transition to sand has never been a problem in the past. I am very good at sliding," said Thiem. "Physically, it won't take me long to be in top shape again." The greatest challenge is to classify the experiences and process them mentally.
"A lot of people talk about a changing of the guard, but I don't quite see it that way," said Thiem. Djokovic and Nadal are the big favorites. Above all, the Spaniard has an advantage because he travels to Paris rested. "I expect myself to play better and more relaxed," said Thiem. "I put a lot of pressure on myself in the past because I didn't succeed in the really big hit. I would have looked crying at my career if I had been denied a Grand Slam title." Thiem has now ticked that off in the New York bubble.