Dominic Thiem: More inside, more spin - figures from Indian Wells show progress
Dominic Thiem is on the right track - at least if you can believe the numbers from Indian Wells.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 19, 2023, 02:10 pm
If you look at the results in 2023, things don't look good for Dominic Thiem: he has one win in seven defeats this season, and Thiem only won against Alex Molcan at the tournament in Buenos Aires.
The feeling since his return after about a year, after the stubborn wrist injury and a mental low: the forehand scatters, even the "heavy spin" isn't quite as heavy as it used to be.
However, the company "Tennis Insights" has now provided figures that show progress, especially with regard to the forehand.
Thiem's pre-injury numbers (of 1,564 forehands examined):
- 87.5 percent in the field
- an average speed of 77.6 miles/hour
- an average topspin rate of 2,978 rpm
- Topspin generally played 93 percent
After the injury (907 forehands analyzed), things looked different:
- 79.2 percent in the field
- an average speed of 74.8 miles/hour
- an average topspin rate of 2,674 rpm
- Topspin generally played 89 percent
So consistently worse numbers, which prove Thiem's forehand problem quite well.
In Indian Wells, Thiem lost to Adrian Mannarino at the start, but delivered significantly better forehand numbers. Specifically (with 171 analyzed records):
- 83 percent in the field
- an average speed of 75.6 miles/hour
- an average topspin rate of 2,835 rpm
- Topspin generally played 94.7 percent
None that come close to the "old days" yet, but seem to be on the way there.
Next stop for Thiem now: the Miami Open, for which he also received a wildcard. Can he build on the good numbers from Indian Wells? We'll know more by the end of next week.