tennisnet.com ATP

Dominic Thiem: Quiet please, dear internet rambos

Dominic Thiem is currently in the most difficult phase of his career so far. On the part of large parts of his fan base, the successes of the past days have been blown away today. Why it takes more patience for the returnee Thiem. A comment.

by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: May 18, 2022, 07:44 am

Dominic Thiem is currently on a rocky road back
© Getty Images
Dominic Thiem is currently on a rocky road back

Dominic Thiem's recent appearance on his comeback was somehow out of line. Recently, the Austrian has understood how to continuously improve from match to match, from tournament to tournament. Slowly but surely getting more pressure on the forehand. Slowly but surely finding the automatisms again. And slowly but surely acting wide awake at the crucial moments. In short: getting back to that Dominic Thiem week after week, who has advanced to third place in the ATP world rankings, who has won a Grand Slam tournament and has held the title 17 times on the ATP tour could enter.

Thiem did not take another step in this direction with his first-round defeat at the ATP 250 event in Geneva. Also because Marco Cecchinato - on paper the most feasible opponent since his comeback (excluding Pedro Cachin in the first match in Marbella) - had an excellent day and the 28-year-old did not offer the opportunities that some other players outside gave him of the best 100 in the world would have offered. What still distinguishes the Austrian: radical honesty, an open approach to the negative. "A lot, a lot of things didn't fit. It was a bit of a step backwards," said Thiem after the early end in Switzerland.

On paper...

Even if the bare numbers paint a devastating picture - Dominic Thiem only managed to win one set in six matches after returning - a differentiated handling of setbacks is the order of the day in this phase. However, only Dominic Thiem understood that. While the Austrian is honestly trying to classify the performance, the Internet rambos are happily hammering on the keys in many places: "He should retire." Or at least decide that "it won't work anymore" with the way back to the top. The fact that the bare numbers are currently only a (very small) part of the story is of course hidden in these statements.

Fabio Fognini already won an ATP Masters 1000 event on clay in Monte Carlo 2019 and in Rome, in front of a home crowd, is by no means a player you want to deal with in early rounds. Andy Murray defused a top 20 player in an impressive manner in Madrid the day after his triumph over Thiem with Denis Shapovalov. And Marco Cecchinato? During his career he has shown (although too rarely) that he is capable of great things on sand. The semi-finals at the French Open 2018 - with victory over Novak Djokovic - is the best example of this.

Thiem reveals expectations

Given the severity of the injury, it was obvious from the outset that Dominic Thiem - Austria's tennis hero, the Grand Slam champion, the high-flyer from Lichtenwörth - will not be able to return to the top of the world in seven-league boots. It wasn't just the Austrian who openly said this, tennis experts and commentators also agree: The way back to the top takes time, it needs patience and it needs a considered approach to dealing with the setbacks that this entails. It is - to put it mildly - incomprehensible why the Lower Austrian is faced with a wave of criticism after every step on the way back (and that's exactly what the - sometimes quite bitter defeats - these days are simply like).

Especially because Dominic Thiem is refreshingly open about his expectations. No, the French Open won't do much more than tease a few of the top players and maybe win a game or two (or maybe not!). Yes, increases will be noticeable weekly and visible in most matches. But no, it's not an easy way back - and he'll need the ability to suffer. But Dominic Thiem is ready to go this route. And he understood that this can only be successfully contested step by step. Unfortunately, he is (almost) alone at the moment.

by Michael Rothschädl

Wednesday
May 18, 2022, 08:05 am
last edit: May 18, 2022, 07:44 am