Dominic Thiem: "The goal is to return to the absolute top level this year"
Dominic Thiem is currently struggling with corona disease. The Austrian used the time to comment on his comeback course in an "ORF" interview.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 04, 2022, 07:34 pm
Dominic Thiem currently has more time than usual: due to a corona infection, the Lower Austrian is still in Marbella, where he made his comeback last week. This did not go as planned with the two-set defeat against Pedro Cachin , but the defeat came as anything but a surprise for the 28-year-old.
"The most important thing was that I was pain-free. From a playful point of view, there was no other way to wait. Any victory would have been a big surprise," said Thiem on the "ORF" program "Sport am Sonntag" . Thiem identified the compulsory break of more than nine months as the main reason for his defeat.
Thiem: "There are still a lot of things missing"
"There are still a lot of things missing," said Thiem, who above all missed the lack of automation in his game. And: "The forehand isn't where it was before." In fact, this otherwise feared weapon of the Lichtenwörther against Cachin had not had the same effect as before his wrist injury.
Thiem is not afraid of never being able to match his old performance again. "The goal is to return to the absolute top level this year, where I was already. If that happens at the end of the season, that would be sensational," said the world number 50., who claims to have never ended his career employed.
Because the US Open winner of 2020 still has a lot planned in his career: "Once you're used to being able to win every tournament, you want to go there again and that's the same for me. If that weren't the case , tennis would no longer make sense for me. I want to play for the big titles again and be able to win against every good opponent in the world."
At the French Open, which Thiem originally set as a big goal for the current season, it probably won't be enough for the really big hit. At least Thiem himself suspects that: “I will certainly not be quite the old man yet. There is not enough time for that. The injury break was too long and the injury too delicate I'm in good shape and can beat a lot of opponents and annoy the absolute top stars at least a little bit. That's all there is to it."
Thiem hopes to start in Monte Carlo
In order to get back into top form, Thiem needs one thing above all: time on the tennis court. "It gets better with every training set. I also saw that in Marbella, where I trained and played with the pros. If I play sets every day and hopefully more matches again, then it will get better again," he explained 17-time ATP title holder.
It is not yet clear when the Lower Austrian will play his next match. He did not appear in Marrakech due to his corona infection, but given the mild course Thiem is hoping for a comeback at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo next week. If that doesn't work out, Thiem would return to Belgrade from April 18th.