Dominic Thiem: Return at exactly the right time
Dominic Thiem will return to the ATP tour in a few days. In the first matches after a good seven-month injury break, the focus for the Lichtenwörther is to regain confidence in his own body. And to collect match practice as well as points for the world rankings.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Jan 31, 2022, 07:58 am
The moment of shock for Austrian tennis fans in the middle of the week was short-lived: yes, Dominic Thiem had to end his training after just five minutes. But no, a start at the ATP 250 event in Cordoba is by no means in danger, the Austrian's press spokeswoman said in a first reaction. Today it is clear that Thiem had to pay tribute to an overload in the hitting arm on Wednesday, but this will not have any significant impact on his comeback. According to reports from the Crown, neo-physio Carlos Costa would have meticulously taken care of the 28-year-old's right hand. Thiem also had to skip the afternoon session on Wednesday.
For the former third in the world rankings, the appearances in Argentina are the first since the longest injury break in Dominic Thiem's career. The 28-year-old has not played a match on the ATP tour since June 2021 - and thus for seven months. The targeted return to the Australian Open recently fell victim to a few minor setbacks in the preparation - a cold and persistent wrist problems. But now the physique of the US Open winner from 2020 seems to be right for a return to competitive tennis.
Thiem on favorite surface before returning
Dominic Thiem has probably chosen the best time for his return. A trip Down Under to start at the Australian Open without a preparatory tournament would hardly have been profitable given the moderate starting position for the Austrian. So the 28-year-old's team decided to wait a little longer - and made the tough decision to cancel the first major event of the year as well.
A decision that also has a lot of positives in store: Thiem will return to the ATP tour on his favorite clay court and with more than enough preparation time. At the traditionally expandable events in South America - the quartet in Cordoba, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile - a good mix of tough and feasible opponents awaits Thiem. It is therefore feasible in order not to let a dosed return on the ATP tour degenerate into a series of defeats. Because father Wolfgang Thiem had also emphasized to the Kleine Zeitung that one cannot initially expect the really big performance explosions from the Lower Austrian. With Diego Schwartzman, Cristian Garin, Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz, the Lower Austrian will also be opposed by some top-class players anyway.
Finding trust in the body
In Cordoba, Schwatzman, Garin and Sonego are Dominic Thiem's toughest competitors, who, thanks to a bye, will not enter the tournament until Wednesday - and caught a quite feasible draw up to the semifinals. In any case, Thiem will focus primarily on two things in South America: collecting points and competition practice. Because if the Lower Austrian does not deliver at the clay court events, Thiem could fall out of the top 50 in the world rankings. A ranking that would also worsen the starting position for the Sunshine Double in Miami and Indian Wells in early March. And by these tournaments at the latest, as coach father Wolfgang also confirmed, the 28-year-old wants to be in top form again.
In addition to the important match practice, the Kronen Zeitung quoted trainer Nicolas Massu as saying that it was now important for Thiem to regain confidence in his body as soon as possible: "It is important that he has confidence in his body and remains injury-free," explains the Chilean. Then Dominic will come back soon. But nothing should be rushed.”