Dominic Thiem on tennis in Corona times: "Take more breaks than normal"
Dominic Thiem is back on the tennis court after a mental break to get fit for the sand. But strategic breaks are also planned for 2021.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 09, 2021, 11:35 am
The lonely life in the hotel - for the man-plagued loner, quite a dream. For the tennis professional who spends around 30 or 40 weeks a year away from home: not really. Especially when in Corona times the hotel phases are longer and contacts are limited.
That hits some people's minds, including Dominic Thiem, who lacks the beautiful accompanying circumstances of the sometimes ugly nomadic life. "The energy from the fans, having a nice dinner in the evening, going to the beach: All these beautiful things simply fall away. And the bad things, like traveling, are still there, " Thiem told ORF on Wednesday . This situation makes "everything a little more strenuous than it was before," said the Lichtenwörther. Who, like so many others, has found a solution. "That's why both I and many other players will take more breaks than normal. It's just important to be fully ready again."
In the previous year, players like Ashleigh Barty or Nick Kyrgios had kept their stakes to a minimum, Barty was no longer on tour after the shutdown in March. Most recently, Gilles Simon had announced a tour break because he wasn't having fun - compatriot Benoit Paire, meanwhile, continued to play cheerlessly . And Denis Shapovalov, like Thiem, had also announced a slimmed-down program for 2021.
Thiem on French Open: "Nadal is above everyone else"
For Thiem there was also the victory at the US Open 2020 on a mental level, the victory in a Grand Slam title, to which he had subordinated his entire life, with "an unbelievable energy output". It seems normal to need some time to reorient yourself, to set new goals.
One of them is actually an old one: the French Open. Thiem was already in the final twice, and twice the winner was - as always - Rafael Nadal. Everything has become more balanced, according to Thiem, but Paris is a special thing "because Nadal is above everyone else there". Otherwise, Thiem now sees "six or seven people" in a position where previously there were only Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
Thiem's current plans are therefore also designed for Paris. He had canceled a start in Monte Carlo, the tournaments in Belgrade (250cc) and Madrid (1000cc) are in view. He did a few tests to see where he stood, he dared to be in top physical form in Madrid. Playful? Lack of match practice. "The matches against the best players in the world: I have to make sure that I get the ones in Madrid and Rome. So that I am fully back in Paris."
After all, Thiem now has a week more time. As it became known yesterday, the French Open will take place a week later than planned.The start is only on May 30th.